TEHRAN- Iran has refuted contrived claims made by several Western countries and their media outlets that it sent Russia weaponry, including drones, to use against Ukraine.

Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement on Tuesday that these accusations were "unfounded" and that they had been based on "misinformation and ill-intentioned presumptions."

He continued by saying that the claims were being spread as part of a political and strategic effort run by media outlets in several countries.

The official stated that Iran was prepared to communicate with Ukraine to disprove the accusations.

The comments were made in the midst of Russia's "special military operation," which began in February, in the former Soviet republic.

Moscow maintains that the mission was started in order to protect the pro-Russian residents of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk from Kiev's repression.

The two republics split out from Ukraine back in 2014 after a democratically elected Ukrainian government that was pro-Russia had been ousted by a Western-backed government.

Iran has been following a policy of "active neutrality" since the outbreak of the crisis, voicing its opposition to the continuance of the conflict, and highlighting the necessity of a peaceful settlement to the long-standing problems between Moscow and Kiev, Kanaani underlined.

The spokesman said that Iran has always emphasized the need to uphold other nations' sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, including Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter.

In July, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the first anti-Iran allegations, claiming that Washington had "information" indicating that Iran was getting ready to give Russia "up to several hundred UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline" for use in the conflict in Ukraine.

The United States, Britain, and France were reportedly intending to bring up the accusation during a closed-door UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

However, the Pentagon declared on Tuesday that it was unable to confirm the transfer of any Iranian weapons to Russia.

At a news briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said, “I don't have any information to corroborate that at this time.”

The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, had earlier this month refuted similar claims by asserting that Russian gear was being employed in the operation.