US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and by CNN claimed that a Russian delegation visited an airfield in Iran at least twice in the last month to inspect weapons-capable drones, based on satellite imagery they obtained.

US officials told CNN that in June, Iran began showcasing the Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to Russia at Kashan Airfield south of Tehran.

CNN quoted Sullivan as claiming that "We have information that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs."

"We assess an official Russian delegation recently received a showcase of Iranian attack-capable UAVs," he added.

The National Security Adviser said that "We are releasing these images captured in June showing Iranian UAVs that the Russian government delegation saw that day. This suggests ongoing Russian interest in acquiring Iranian attack-capable UAVs."

Sullivan claimed that this "was the first time a Russian delegation has visited this airfield for such a showcase," and the US officials said that on July 5, a Russian delegation visited the airfield in Iran for a similar showcase.

White House: Iran planning to supply Russia with hundreds of drones

It is noteworthy that earlier this week, Sullivan 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.

He told reporters that "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," adding that this provision will be done on an ‘expedited timeline’ due to alleged "significant losses in Ukraine".

The National Security Adviser said it was unclear whether Iran had already expedited any of the weapons to Russia, 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.

Iranian FM spokesperson responds to US allegations

In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told reporters, on Tuesday, that "The history of cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation in the field of some new technologies dates back to before the start of the war in Ukraine and there has been no special development in this relationship recently."

Furthermore, the spokesperson stressed that "The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the war in Ukraine is quite clear and has been officially announced many times," adding that "The claim of the US official comes while the United States and the Europeans have for years turned the occupying and aggressor countries, including in the West Asian region, into a storehouse for their various fatal weapons." 

In March, US officials claimed that Russia requested China's support in the war in Ukraine. But Sullivan told reporters at the time that the US had no evidence that Bejing supported Moscow militarily or financially.