Iran says it gave drones to Russia in the months before Moscow invaded Ukraine, backtracking on previous claims it never supplied weapons to Russia.
Tehran provided a "small number of drones" to Russia in the months before the war, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in comments published by state-affiliated outlets. Iran had previously refuted growing evidence it had sent drones and other weapons to Moscow.
Mr Amirabdollahian denied that Iran had also sent missiles to Moscow and said Tehran will "react" if it is proven Iranian drones have been used by Russia in Ukraine.
An army spokesperson later claimed that Iran is "not involved" in the war.
Ukraine and its western allies say Tehran sent drones to support Russia's offensive. The EU and US have stepped up sanctions on Iran over its material support for Moscow.
Foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko warned Iran following Moscow's admission.
"Tehran should realise that the consequences of complicity in the crimes of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine will be much greater than the benefit of Russia's support," he wrote on Facebook.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently vowed to take down Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones, which have been deployed in multiple offensives on Ukraine, including on strikes in the centre of Kyiv.
Speaking next to a downed Shahed drone, Mr Zelenskyy promised to "clip the wings" of Moscow's air power.
Ukraine's air force said it has downed more than 300 Iranian drones, while the US said Tehran has sent drone trainers to occupied areas of Ukraine.
On Friday, Nato said Tehran could send ballistic missiles to Russia to be used in the conflict.
Iran is preparing to send another 1,000 drones and missiles to Moscow, military experts told The National earlier this week.
The shipment is being closely monitored by the West as it marks the first surface-to-surface missiles to be sent by Iran, they said.
Iran displays drones at secret underground base — in pictures
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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