TEHRAN- The Iranian mission to the UN has denied a report by the Washington Post that Tehran and Moscow had agreed to assemble Iranian-designed drones on Russian land, saying the defense cooperation between Iran and Russia has been and would continue to exist.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Moscow had reached out for Tehran to embark on procuring hundreds of unmanned armed aircraft. 

According to the Post, Russian and Iranian officials "finalized the deal" during a meeting in Iran in early November. The two nations are now hurriedly exchanging designs and crucial parts, which could enable production to start within months.

The Iranian mission to the UN responded to the accusations by stating that significant efforts had already been done in collaborative interaction between Iranian and Ukrainian defense professionals, and that this collaboration would continue until any misunderstanding in this respect was cleared up.

Iran thinks that by working together with Ukraine to address the problem of purported drones, the ambiguities that have developed in this area may be clarified.

The delegation said that Tehran has requested a joint meeting with Ukrainian officials to examine the allegations that Russia used drones built in Iran in its war against Ukraine.

It noted that prior to the commencement of the Ukraine war, Iran and Russia had long-standing defense, scientific, and research collaboration based on bilateral agreements.

It added a ten-year UN arms embargo on Tehran was lifted in 2020, and Iran is now free to cooperate with other nations on military matters in accordance with its objectives and needs.

As per the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted by the global body to support the 2015 nuclear agreement, UN ban on the sale of arms from/to Iran was lifted on October 18, 2020.

Iran has stressed that all United Nations members must fully respect the principles and objectives enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, including national sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of countries, ever since the Ukraine crisis began in February. Iran has taken "clear, consistent, and unwavering" positions on these issues.

Russia and Iran have both vehemently refuted allegations that Tehran had sent drones to Moscow for use in the conflict in Ukraine.

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

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian downplayed media controversies over Iran's reported backing for Russia in the Ukraine war earlier this month, stating that Iran will not be unconcerned if it is confirmed that Russia has employed Iranian drones in the battle.

He said that Iran had given Russia a few drones months before the conflict in Ukraine.