TEHRAN- The latest allegation leveled by the United States and its allies regarding Russia’s deployment of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war has been refuted by Iran’s permanent representative to the UN.

The mission said in a statement on Friday that the anti-Iran allegations are meant to sway Antonio Guterres’ six-month periodic report to the UN on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2231.

Iran and Russia allegedly increased their military collaboration, according to a joint statement made at the Security Council Stakeout on Friday by the U.S. ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Thomas-Greenfield claimed Russia has not only procured hundreds of ‘Mohajer’ and ‘Shahed’ series unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Iran in clear violation of Resolution 2231, but it is also now working with Iran to produce the weapons inside Russia.

The U.S. diplomat stated that she issued the joint statement on behalf of the U.S., France, the United Kingdom, Albania, and Ukraine.

Iran’s diplomatic mission responded to the accusation by saying that since the alleged nations have not forced the secretariat to comply with their “illegal” demands regarding the drone issue, they are instead trying to sway the six-month periodic report through organized letters and “political show.”

It said the pressure on the UN Security Council not to examine the report in due time this month during the presidency of the United Arab Emirates and to postpone it to the next month under Britain’s presidency “clearly reveals their biased goals.”

Iran, according to the mission, “repeatedly announced in a clear manner that it is not involved in the war and that this war cannot have a winner or a loser.”

The statement went on to add that all actions should be taken to put an immediate stop to the crisis in Ukraine and address its underlying causes in order to create a lasting peace.

The most recent accusation was made in relation to a report by the UN head on Iran’s fulfillment of Resolution 2231, which was adopted in 2015 as a component of the nuclear agreement.

Until October 2023, the resolution forbids nations from obtaining drones and ballistic missiles from Iran with a range greater than 300 kilometers and a payload greater than 500 kg.

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

In July 2022, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the first anti-Iran claims, saying purportedly 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.

Russia denies “groundless” claims by the West

Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, also said on Friday that the drone accusation against Iran was “completely without foundation.”

“It’s not the first time that we hear allegations about us using Iranian drones in Ukraine. We categorically rejected it. These are baseless allegations and blatant attempts to deliberately mislead the international community,” the Russian diplomat said.

Nebenzya said that Russia expects the UN Secretariat “to strictly abide by its mandate and not to yield to pressure exerted by some states.”