San Francisco Frontiers - Iran envoy says Ukraine support to US, Gulf is a 'joke'

Iran has been attacking countries across the region -- including with drones -- in response to US and Israeli airstrikes against Tehran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"As for the actions Ukraine is taking in the Middle East against drones, we essentially consider them nothing more than a joke and a showy gesture," Amouzegar told AFP in an exclusive interview.

AFP spoke to charge d'affaires Amouzegar at the Iranian embassy in Kyiv, a partly vacated house near the Ukrainian presidential administration.

Kyiv stripped the Iranian ambassador of his accreditation in 2022 and scaled down the mission in response to Tehran's supply of Shahed drones to Moscow.

But the embassy continues to operate despite Ukraine fighting off near-daily barrages of Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia, Tehran's ally, throughout the four-year invasion.

Ukraine said it had sent seasoned drone experts to Gulf states, which are facing similar threats, a move condemned by Amouzegar.

"Unfortunately, Ukraine has now effectively entered a stage of direct confrontation with us; that is, it has placed itself alongside our enemies," he said.

He denied that Iran was involved in the Russian invasion, saying that it supported Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Kyiv, he said, had "played the 'Iran card' in order to obtain more resources from the West".

- 'Not afraid' -

Kyiv has been seeking to trade anti-drone technologies and expertise for conventional air-defence missiles, which it urgently needs.

US President Donald Trump told Fox News radio that his country didn't need Ukraine's help in drone defence, apparently contradicting statements from Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that the US had asked for help.

Kyiv said it had sent anti-drone experts who have begun working in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

"Ukraine's presence in this war does not really have any real significance for us. We do not take it very seriously," Amouzegar said.

"We are absolutely not afraid of this recent action by the Ukrainian government. We have new technologies and innovations that will neutralise all these efforts," he added.

On Saturday, Iranian lawmaker Ibrahim Azizi said Ukraine now "has turned its entire territory into a legitimate target for Iran", citing Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, specifying the right to self-defence.

In response, Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi said the claim was "absurd".

He likened it to "hearing a serial killer justify his crimes by citing criminal code".

L.Ramos--SFF