The ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran may have found a new target in Ukraine, according to senior Iranian MP Ebrahim Azizi, who has threatened potential retaliation against Kyiv.
Azizi, who is the head of the national security commission of the Iranian parliament took to X on Saturday, warning that Kyiv’s decision to send anti-aircraft assets to Middle East to thwart Iranian attacks in the region had given Tehran the right to strike Ukraine in self-defence.
“By providing drone support to the Israeli regime, failed Ukraine has effectively become involved in the war and, under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, has turned its entire territory into a legitimate target for Iran,” Azizi wrote.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called the threat “absurd” in a statement from Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi to the media.
“The Iranian regime has been supporting the murder of Ukrainians for years, by directly sharing drones and technology for Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Tykhyi said.
“In this sense, hearing anyone from that regime threaten Ukraine and cite the right to self-defense enshrined in the U.N. Charter’s Article 51 is absurd. It’s like hearing a serial killer justify his crimes by citing criminal code.”
What is Ukraine’s role in the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran?
Over the last few weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had repeatedly signalled his readiness to get involved in the war in the Middle East. He had claimed that the US had asked Ukraine for help defend its Gulf allies against Iranian strikes on American assets stationed there, while other regional “partners” had purportedly reached out to Kyiv as well, RT reported.
In Zelenskyy’s latest remarks, he told journalists that Ukraine doesn’t want to lose the US’ support while the latter is engaged in the Middle East war, according to AFP.
“We are showing our willingness to help the United States and their allies in the Middle East” by offering to share Ukraine’s drone expertise, and “we strongly hope that as a result of the Middle East, the United States will not turn its back on the question of the war in Ukraine”, he added.
Notably, Iranian-designed Shahed drones, widely used by Russia in Ukraine, had also been deployed in attacks across the Middle East, prompting regional partners and the US to seek Ukraine’s expertise in countering these systems.
Ukraine, in return, has sought money and technology for helping West Asian nations after sending specialists to four countries in the region.
“This is not about being involved in operations. We are not at war with Iran,” Zelenskyy said. “This is about protection and a thorough, complete assessment on our part of how to counter the Shaheds,” he added.
How has Trump reacted to Zelenskyy’s proposal?
The POTUS originally appeared to be welcoming to Zelenskyy’s advances, stating he would “take any assistance from any country” in battling Iran. In a recent interview with Fox News, however, he snubbed Zelenskyy’s offers, flatly denying any assistance from Ukraine in countering Iranian drones was needed.
“We don’t need their help in drone defence. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually,” Trump stated.