Iran sent Russia weapons to kill Ukrainians. Now it’s complaining to the UN that Ukraine is teaching their targets to shoot back

Iran accused Ukraine of participating in US-Israeli military aggression against Tehran by deploying anti-drone experts to Gulf states, according to a letter Iran's UN ambassador sent to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN Security Council. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry rejected the accusation sharply, pointing to the nearly 60,000 Iranian-supplied drones that have struck Ukrainian territory since 2022.

The deployment preceded a Middle East tour during which Ukrainian President Zelenskyy signed 10-year defense agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, exchanging Ukrainian anti-drone expertise for air defense missiles and energy supplies. Zelenskyy described the deals as revolutionary.

Iran files UN complaint over Ukraine's Gulf experts

Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN Amir Saeed Iravani claimed in a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Security Council that Ukraine's deployment of "hundreds of experts" to help Gulf states counter Iranian drones constitutes "material and operational support" for illegal military aggression. Iravani argued that Ukraine's assistance "directly contributes to the use of force" against Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and invoked Article 2(4) of the UN Charter — the prohibition on the use of force — to frame Kyiv as legally liable under principles of state responsibility.

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Iran claimed Ukraine's involvement was deliberate, not coincidental. Iravani further called on the Security Council to hold Ukraine accountable for what Tehran described as "complicity in an internationally wrongful act" — participation in the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began on February 28, 2026. Iran also rejected Ukrainian allegations of military cooperation with Russia as "speculative, unsubstantiated, and politically motivated."

Ukraine: 60,000 Iranian drones hit us — we never struck Iran

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi dismissed Tehran's letter in unambiguous terms. 

"How to know whether an Iranian regime representative is lying? If his lips move, he is," Tykhyi wrote on X. 

He followed with the central rebuttal: 

"Almost 60,000 drones shared by Iran with Russia have struck Ukraine since 2022. Not a single Ukrainian drone has ever hit Iran."

Tykhyi also addressed Iran's threat directly. 

"This liar should've been long gone together with his regime," he wrote. 

Since 2022, Iran has supplied Russia with Shahed-type long-range kamikaze munitions and helped Russia develop similar drones for domestic production, making it a direct enabler of Russia's strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.