Iran on Saturday vehemently rejected a French, German, and British proposal for the UN to look into claims that Russia employed drones with Iranian origins to attack Ukraine, according to its foreign ministry.
The so-called E-3 group of nations' call on Friday, according to ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, was "strongly rejected and condemned" and was "false and unjustified."
Russian attack drones produced in Iran, the Shahed-136, are said to have been utilised by Russia, according to Ukraine.
Tehran denies providing the drones to Moscow, and Russia has refuted claims that its soldiers attacked Ukraine with Iranian drones.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in its pursuit to protect its national interest and to secure the rights of the noble Iranian people, reserves the right to respond to any irresponsible action,” the Iranian foreign ministry website quoted Kanaani as saying.
“It will not hesitate to defend the interests of the Iranian people,” he said, without elaborating.
In a letter signed by their U.N. envoys and seen by Reuters, the three European countries backed Ukraine’s call on Monday for a U.N. probe, arguing the drone use breached U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2231 endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.