Ukraine Strips Iran's Ambassador of Accreditation Over Alleged Arms Sales to Russia - Kiev

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2022) The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Friday announced the government's decision to revoke the credentials of Iranian Ambassador in Kiev Manouchehr Moradi over Tehran's alleged arms deliveries to Russia.

On August 30, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the United States assesses that Iran provided Russia with two different types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for use amid the special military operation in Ukraine.

"In response to such an unfriendly act, the Ukrainian side has decided to strip the Iranian Ambassador in Ukraine of his accreditation and to significantly reduce the number of the diplomatic staff of the Iranian Embassy in Kiev," the ministry said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that information about Russia buying UAVs from Iran had been spread artificially in US media. In late August, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Washington Post had been spreading much false news recently when commenting on a report about Tehran supplying Moscow with drones.

On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Western countries responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Moscow while also ramping up their military support for Kiev.