US: Iran Regime Continues to Lie About Its Military Relations with Russia

On Friday, the US State Department referred to the ongoing military cooperation between Iran and Russia, stating on its Persian account on 'X': 'The Iranian regime continues to lie to cover up its military relations with Russia and its support for Russia's unjust and unwarranted war against Ukraine.' The United States emphasized in this post that 'there is clear evidence of a flight by Pouya Airlines, a company affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is sanctioned by the UN and the US, to occupied Crimea, proving the absurdity of this company's denial.' The US State Department also stressed that America will continue to expose the destabilizing activities of the Iranian regime and disrupt its proliferation of dangerous weapons. Ukrainian media reported on Thursday evening, September 7, citing data from 'Flight Radar 24', which tracks aircraft paths, that an Iranian cargo plane belonging to Pouya Airlines landed at Simferopol Airport in the Crimea Peninsula around 3 PM local time on Thursday and left the airport at 5:09 PM heading southeast, passing over the Black Sea. This airport, occupied by Russian forces, has been closed to civilian flights since the onset of Russia's attack on Ukraine. Hours after this news broke, Pouya Airlines, which belongs to the IRGC Aerospace Force, denied the presence of its aircraft at the Crimean airport, calling it 'fake news.' The US, UK, EU, Australia, and New Zealand have repeatedly sanctioned the Islamic Republic for providing drones to Russia in the Ukraine war. Sergey Ryabkov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, stated on August 26, after reports of Washington's request for Tehran to stop selling drones to Moscow, that military cooperation between Russia and Iran will not yield to geopolitical pressures. According to Reuters, citing the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Mr. Ryabkov described Russia and the Islamic Republic as two independent countries and defended their relations, stating: 'No changes have occurred, and cooperation with Iran will continue.' The Financial Times reported in August that the US is pressuring Iran to end the sale of military drones that Russia is using in the Ukraine war. Iran has previously confirmed sending drones to Russia but claimed they were delivered before Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow has denied the use of Iranian drones in Ukraine.