Iran risks 'dependency' on Russia: US

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The United States said on Wednesday that Iran risked growing dependent on an isolated Russia, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the country to attend a tripartite summit with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit came as part of a tripartite summit with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Iranian capital, Tehran, to discuss possible settlements in Syria to reach an end to the war that has been ravaging the country for over a decade.

Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei said in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that long-term Iranian-Russian cooperation was greatly in the interest of both countries.

Iran's leader underlined that "the US dollar must be gradually taken off global trade, and this can be done gradually."

"Iran has now cast its lot with a small number of countries who wore that veil of neutrality only to end up supporting President Putin in his war against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.

Meanwhile, Sayyed Khamenei explained during his meeting with Putin that the Islamic Republic was not happy with what was happening to ordinary people during the war, but in the case of Ukraine, "If you had not taken the initiative, the [West] would have caused a war on its own initiative."

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan previously said that information sourced from a US top official suggests that Iran is planning to supply Russia with hundreds of combat drones for use in the war with Ukraine.

"The Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), including weapons-capable UAVs, on an expedited timeline," Sullivan said. This provision will be done on an "expedited timeline" due to alleged "significant losses in Ukraine," he added.

It was unclear whether Iran had already expedited any of the weapons to Russia, the official said, but the US has "information" that indicates Iran is preparing to initiate training for Russian forces to use the combat drones as early as this month.

Price underlined that Iran returning to compliance with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, from which then-President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 and accompanied his arbitrary decision with the imposition of harsh sanctions on the Islamic Republic, would start a new "economic relationship with other countries around the world."

Though the United States is criticizing the Tehran Summit, CIA chief Bill Burns said Iran and Russia were growing warmer primarily because they were both "looking to break out of political isolation" and due to the sanctions on both countries.

"But if they need each other, they don't really trust each other in the sense that they are energy rivals and historical competitors," Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum.

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