Iran condemns call for U.N. probe into the alleged use of its drones in Ukraine

 The Islamic Republic of Iran on Saturday strongly condemned a call by France, Germany, and Britain for the United Nations probe into the alleged use of Iranian-origin drones in Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

The three countries urged the UN to probe accusations that Russia has used Iranian-origin drones to attack Ukrainian cities and people. The foreign ministry of Iran condemned the three countries on Saturday. 

Iran denied supplying drones to Russia in the Ukraine war. On Friday, Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry said that the call by the so-called E-3 group of countries to probe drones was "false and baseless."

Recently, Ukraine said that Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones to target Ukrainian cities. Later on, in a letter signed by their U.N. envoys, the three European countries backed Ukraine's call for a U.N. probe. They said that the alleged use of Iranian drones breached U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2231 endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.]

Denmark, Estonia, France, and Germany also called for sanctions against the Islamic Republic over the supply of drones to Russia. However, Iran has repeatedly denied such claims. 

Earlier, Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, wanted to cut diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic after Russia launched dozens of Iranian drones on Ukraine. He also submitted a proposal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to formally cut diplomatic ties with Iran. The minister said that the attacks were carried out using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones. 

Earlier, the Ukrainian military said that Iranian drones and missiles targeted various towns and cities across Ukraine.

Last week, the European Union imposed fresh sanctions against 11 Iranians and four institutions over Iran's crackdown on anti-hijab and anti-government protests that rocked the country after the death of Mahsa Amini. The EU accused Iran of attacking peaceful protesters in Iran.