Why Iran Is Helping Russia against Ukraine

The third out-of-the-box reason is that the effectiveness of Iranian drones in a major war is the best advertisement possible for those weapons. Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 drone proved decisive in Azerbaijan’s war with Armenia two years ago, and it’s now all the rage for militaries seeking an edge. Ukraine is now using the Turkish-made drone against Russian forces — and even singing about it.

All this to say: if Iran’s drones tilt the balance from Ukraine to Russia in the war, expect more countries to line up for Shahed-136s.

Whatever the exact rationale(s), the Center for a New American Security’s Jonathan Lord had this big takeaway: “Iran has essentially co-opted Russia into being another of its proxies,” he told NatSec Daily.

Iran, of course, denies it’s assisting Russia. “Tehran’s policy regarding the Ukraine war is to respect the country’s territorial integrity,” Iranian Foreign Minister HOSSEIN AMIRABDOLLAHIAN told JOSEP BORRELL, the European Union’s top diplomat.

Read the full story and more from Politico.