John Kirby, the United States National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, made the comment in a briefing to reporters on Monday.
He said that the expanding defense partnership between Tehran and Moscow would help Russia prolong its war in Ukraine and pose a threat to Iran’s neighbors, Reuters reported.
The American official repeated allegations that Iran is providing drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, claiming that more than 400 of such drones had been supplied to Moscow since August.
According to Kirby, the US will be announcing additional designations targeting the military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.
Iran and Russia, as the two countries hit by Western sanctions particularly by the US, have time and again said that they are expanding their mutual cooperation in all fields from economy and trade to politics and military in an effort to counter what they describe as US hegemonic policies.
Iran has admitted that it has sent drones to Russia as part of their military cooperation, but maintains that they were dispatched long before the war in Ukraine began in February 2022. Plus, the Islamic Republic has on various occasions called for an end to the Ukraine war and expressed its readiness to help bring about a political solution to the conflict.
Iran has repeatedly rejected allegations of posing threats to its neighbors while blaming the presence of foreign forces for insecurity in the West Asia region.
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