NATO Condemns Military Cooperation of Three Countries with Russia; Iran Responds

Leaders of NATO member countries condemned the military cooperation of Belarus, North Korea, and Iran with Russia. According to a statement on Wednesday, July 20, NATO, which was approved at its 75th anniversary meeting in Washington, stated that the military-technical cooperation of Iran and North Korea with Russia has serious implications for the security of the European and Atlantic regions and undermines the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The statement noted that Iran's military-technical cooperation with Russia poses a significant risk of escalating the situation. NATO emphasized that Iran and North Korea, by providing direct military support to Russia, including ammunition, missiles, and drones to Moscow, are 'fueling Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine.' A spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry reacted to this statement on Thursday, July 21, calling the claim of Tehran's military assistance to Russia in the Ukraine war 'baseless and rejected.' Nasser Kanani claimed that what we are witnessing in Ukraine is 'the result of NATO's provocative policies centered around the United States.' He reiterated that Iran has 'never' provided drones to Russia in the Ukraine war and continues to emphasize a political resolution to this crisis and the establishment of lasting peace. Following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow faced the world's most severe punitive sanctions regime. In the wake of these sanctions, Russia has turned to North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran to secure the weapons it needs for the war in Ukraine. Tehran is accused of delivering hundreds of Shahed-136 drones for Russia's war in Ukraine and is also under suspicion of having recently offered Russia to sell a new long-range explosive drone from the Shahed 107 series. Over the two years since the start of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, Tehran initially denied any sale of weapons, including drones, to Russia but later claimed that it had provided these weapons to Russia before the Ukraine war began. However, the Ukrainian government and military have repeatedly published documents and evidence of the use of Iranian drones, including the 'Shahed' type, to attack the territory of Ukraine. The United States, the European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom have imposed further sanctions against Tehran in the past year due to the sale of drones and other military weapons to Russia for use in the Ukraine war. The North Korean government has also been accused of providing various missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war. Recently, the leaders of Pyongyang and Moscow signed a military agreement that includes mutual assistance in the event of military attacks.