The United States said that “Russia-Iran relations have improved to a full defense partnership.”
A spokesman for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said Russia was providing an unprecedented level of military support to Iran.
He added that the United States had seen reports that “the two countries are considering joint production of ‘Killer Marches.’
Cooperation between Russia and Iran has come to the fore recently, with Ukraine accusing Russia of using Iranian drones in its attacks.
Iran initially denied sending drones to Russia, but later admitted it supplied some before invading Ukraine.
Kirby said a partnership between Iran and Russia to produce drones would hurt Ukraine, Iran’s neighbors and the international community.
“Russia seeks cooperation with Iran in areas such as weapons development and training,” he said, adding that the United States fears that Russia “intends to supply Iran with advanced military components,” including helicopters and air defense.
In response to Kirby’s comments, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Iran had become a major military supporter of Russia and that the relationship between them threatened global security.
He said the “suspicious deals” between the two countries included Iran sending hundreds of drones to Russia.
“In return, Russia provides military and technical support to the Iranian regime, which will increase the risks it poses to our partners in the Middle East and to international security,” he added.
He said Britain had agreed with the United States that Iranian support for the Russian military would increase in the coming months as Russia looks to acquire more weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles.
Ukraine has accused Iran of supplying Russia with ‘kamikaze’ drones used in a series of attacks that killed at least eight people on Oct. 17.
Iran initially denied this, but later admitted it sent a “limited number” of drones to Russia “several months” before the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that this is a lie and that Ukraine shoots down around 10 Iranian drones a day.
