President Herzog insists the images prove that Tehran supplied Moscow with so-called “kamikaze” drones
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Washington DC, October 25, 2022. © Stefani Reynolds / AFP
Israel has presented photos to the US that it says are proof that Russia has been using Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones in Ukraine. President Isaac Herzog shared the data during his trip to Washington on Wednesday, where he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and is set to meet President Joe Biden.
“President Herzog will present US government officials with images of Shahed-136 exploding UAVs prepared for a launch in a military exercise in Iran in December 2021. Another photo shows the same type of drone downed during the fighting in Ukraine,” Herzog’s office said in a statement on Tuesday ahead of the president’s trip, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post.
The photos show that the drone stabilizers are “identical in their structure, dimensions, and numbering,” the office stated.
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“Once again Iran proves it cannot be trusted and that in every region where there is killing, suffering, and hate – Iran is there,” Herzog said. “Iranian weapons play a central role in global destabilization, and the international community must learn its lesson, now and in the future.”
Blinken said on Tuesday that “the provision of drones by Iran to Russia to enable its further aggression against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people is showing horrific results on the ground in Ukraine.” He added that the US will continue to work closely with Israel against “the other actions that Iran is taking closer to home.”
Ukrainian officials accused Russia of using Iranian drones after Moscow stepped up strikes on Ukrainian territory this month.
Tehran denied supplying any weapons to either side of the conflict. Russia has also not confirmed using Iranian equipment in Ukraine.
