London Says Russia Wants Iranian Missiles For Ukraine

"The execution of Mohsen Shekari by the Iranian regime is abhorrent. He is a tragic victim of a legal system in which disproportionate sentences, politically motivated trials and forced confessions are rife," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.

"We have made our views clear to the Iranian authorities – Iran must immediately halt executions and end the violence against its own people," Cleverly added.

On Thursday, Germany also summoned Iran’s ambassador over the execution, with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock describing the Iranian regime's contempt for humanity as “boundless."

Earlier on Thursday, the Islamic Republic hanged Mohsen Shekari, a young protester sentenced to death in a sham trial for injuring a regime supporter and closing off a street in the capital Tehran. The revolutionary court had accused him of Moharebeh, an Islamic-Arabic term meaning ‘fighting against God” which carries the death sentence.

The execution, widely seen as a measure to intimidate the protesters, has drawn international condemnation with EU countries vowing further coordinated action against the clerical regime.

A diplomatic source broke the news but did not provide any details about what transpired. Earlier on Thursday, the Islamic Republic hanged Mohsen Shekari, a young protester sentenced to death in a sham trial for injuring a regime supporter and closing off a street in the capital Tehran. The revolutionary court had accused him of Moharebeh, an Islamic-Arabic term meaning ‘fighting against God” which carries the death sentence.

The execution, widely seen as a measure to intimidate the protesters, has drawn international condemnation with EU countries vowing further coordinated action against the clerical regime.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the Iranian regime's contempt for humanity as “boundless," saying that Shekari was “tried and executed in a perfidious summary trial because he disagreed with the regime. But the threat of execution will not stifle people's desire for freedom.”

Moreover, Vice-President of the German Parliament Katrin Göring-Eckardt tweeted that the execution “reacts with all (un)imaginable brutality to protests."

Since the beginning of the unrest, Berlin has summoned Tehran’s ambassador several times over the heavy-handed crackdown on the popular protests. 

So far, around 500 civilians have been killed by security forces and at least 18,000 arrested. While many have been released, around 1,500 face criminal charges, and at least 80 detainees face the death sentence.

Comments from White House security spokesman John Kirby and State Department spokesman Ned Price came after Associated Press reported Moscow was “looking to Iran once again to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.”

AP cited “two officials familiar with the matter.” The news agency also quoted a “UN diplomat” who claimed Iran had “plans to sell Russia hundreds of missiles and drones in violations of the 2015 [UN] Security Council resolution that endorsed the nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers.”

Price spoke Wednesday of the US “voicing concerns” that “Russia could look to Iran for ballistic missile technology” but said Washington had no “information to share at this point regarding current deliveries of ballistic missiles.”

Kirby said that with Russia’s “defense industrial base…being taxed…We know they're having trouble keeping up with that pace…[and] having trouble replenishing specifically precision guided munitions.”

However, Price reiterated US concerns over the close military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. “We’ve voiced our concerns that Russia could look to Iran for ballistic missile technology. We’ve voiced our concerns that cooperation between Iran and Russia could extend to other realms – sharing knowhow, expertise, I hesitate to say best practices but perhaps worst practices when it comes to the suppression of peaceful protesters.”

Iran support cannot ‘tip the balance’

Price said it was not the US assessment that Iranian military support could “tip the balance” in the Ukraine war, and referred back to the first US claims, made July, that Iran was planning to send “dozens” of drones, or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Tehran said early November these had been supplied before the current phase of the Ukraine conflict, which began February.

“I’m not in a position to go beyond that,” Price said, “but Iran has indeed provided at least dozens and perhaps much more of these Iranian drones to Russia for use inside of Ukraine. The Ukrainians, using their own capabilities but also using the air defense capabilities that the United States and many of our partners have provided, have in fact been able to…neutralize many of these UAVs.”

Price suggested that Iran should use revenue, which has been depleted by four years of ‘maximum pressure,’ to prioritize “the needs of its own people” rather than make “important contributions to Russia’s war effort.” Iranian drones had helped Moscow’s attempt to “weaponize winter,” Price said, “to turn off the lights, to turn off the water, to attempt to freeze Ukraine and Ukrainians into submission.”

Meanwhile reports this week said the United Nations is also investigating Iran’s delivery of drones and possibly other weapons to Russia to see if they constitute any violations. Reuters quoted Guterres as saying that “any findings will be reported to the Security Council, as appropriate, in due course.”

Reuters quoted Guterres as saying that “any findings will be reported to the Security Council, as appropriate, in due course.”

Meanwhile, the Associated Press quoted a UN diplomat as saying that Tehran has plans to sell Moscow hundreds of missiles and drones in violation of the 2015 Security Council resolution that endorsed the nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1.

The diplomat, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, added that a key question is what Russia will be giving Iran in return for the drones and missiles.

Last week, Iran International reported that the Islamic Republic has asked Russia for help to quell the popular uprising by supplying anti-riot equipment and training.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Saturday during a joint press briefing with Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House John Kirby that Moscow may be helping the Islamic Republic, drawing on its own experience in suppressing demonstrations.

“The evidence that Iran is helping Russia rage its war against Ukraine is clear and it is public. Iran and Russia are growing closer the more isolated they become,” Jean-Pierre said. “Our message to Iran is very, very clear: Stop killing your people and stop sending weapons to Russia to kill Ukrainians.”

Trudeau said he did not want Canada’s “extraordinary technological innovations” used in “Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, or Iran’s contributions to that.” He argued that Ottawa had “strict export permits in place for sensitive technology” and would work with Tallyman Wireless to “figure out exactly how items that we’re not supposed to get into the hands of anyone like the Iranian government actually ended up there.”

Canada’s arms exports – which before Moscow’s 2014 Crimea annexation included Russia – are regulated by the Export and Import Permits Act, under which there is a list of ‘approved buyers’. In 2021, 66 percent of Canada’s military sales went to the Middle East, with the lion’s share of $1.75 billion bought by Saudi Arabia.

Many parts used in military drones, however, are readily available and often bought online. The presence of Canadian-made antennae in the Shahed-136 drone was asserted last month in an investigation by Statewatch, a group committed to transparency in government.

Trudeau raised the issue with reporters Monday after a report in the Globe and Mail. Statewatch had cited Ukrainian intelligence claiming the Shahed-136 had parts from over 30 European and American companies, mainly from the United States. Ukraine’s attack Monday on two military bases deep inside Russia used Soviet-era drones, the Kremlin said.

Military drones have been deployed by both sides in the Ukraine war, with Ukrainian forces using mainly US and Turkish drones, or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). The increasingly use of drones in conflicts across the world reflects their low cost compared to missiles or jet-planes.

Sanctions, winter

Canada on December 2 sanctioned Baharestan Kish, an Iranian research company, over alleged involvement in supplying drones to Russia. Ottawa had in November sanctioned two Iranian companies on the same grounds, while the US and European Union listed Iranian entities in October.

With temperatures in Kyiv currently minus 5 Celsius (23 Fahrenheit) and snow looming, there are stories of the infamous Russian winter playing havoc with sophisticated weapons. The Ukrainian military has reported that Moscow has not deployed Shaheed drones since November 17 as they cannot function in freezing temperatures.

Other Ukrainian officials have, however suggested Moscow has simply run out of stocks. Iran in early November acknowledged it had supplied “a small number” of military drones to Russia before the current phase of conflict broke out with Moscow’s ‘special military operation’ in February. There have been mixed signals in recent days over prospects for peace talks between Russia and the US to end the war.