Reuters: US accuses UN of yielding to Russian threats over Iranian-made drone inspections
The United States accused UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of giving in to Russian threats in refusing to send officials to Ukraine to inspect the Iranian-made drones Russia has used to attack Ukraine, Reuters reported.
According to the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, and Ukraine, supplying Iranian-made drones to Russia violates a 2015 UN Security Council resolution on the Iran nuclear deal.
"We regret that the U.N. has not moved to carry out a normal investigation of this reported violation," U.S. Deputy UN Ambassador Robert Wood said on Dec. 19.
"We are disappointed that the Secretariat, apparently yielding to Russian threats, has not carried out the investigatory mandate this council has given it," he said.
In response, Guterres told reporters that the supply of Iranian-made drones to Russia is being looked at "in the broader picture of everything we are doing in the context of the war to determine if and when we should" send officials to Kyiv, Reuters reported.
Russia has turned to the use of Iranian-made Shahed "kamikaze" drones, cheaper than ballistic and cruise missiles, to launch attacks at Ukraine, particularly critical infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had ordered over 2,400 of these drones from Iran.
