Iran urges nationals in Ukraine to leave country amid escalation

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran has asked its citizens currently stationed in Ukraine to leave the country and has advised others against traveling there.

The Foreign Ministry has said in a statement that all Iranian nationals in Ukraine should leave the war-ravaged country “for their own safety.”

It has also advised Iranian nationals to refrain from traveling to the country “due to military escalation and increasing insecurity.”

The statement further asks Iranian nationals in Ukraine to “remain calm” and contact the country’s embassy in Kyiv if needed.

The advisory comes amid a rapid escalation in the war, now in its eighth month, with Ukrainian forces making significant territorial advances in the regions recently annexed by Russia.

Tensions between Tehran and Kyiv have also heightened amid claims made by Ukrainian officials as well as the US and European officials about Iran supplying drones to Russia to be used in Ukraine.

‘Directly engaged on the ground’

On Thursday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby had alleged that Iran had deployed military experts in Russian-occupied Crimea to help launch drone attacks on Ukraine.

He said Iran was now “directly engaged on the ground” and through the supply of drones to Russia. He added that the US will “pursue all means” to “expose, deter and confront Iran’s provision of these munitions against the Ukrainian people”.

Ukrainian officials say that they identified the drones used by Russia on the Ukrainian cities on Monday as Iranian-made Shahed-136, known as “kamikaze drones.”

However, both Iran and Russia have strongly refuted the reports, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying they do not have any information on the matter.

Whereas Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian insists that “it is not Tehran’s policy” to send weapons and drones to be used against Ukraine.

There have been reports that Iran promised Russia surface-to-surface missiles in addition to drones.

Some Western news outlets have even published photos of what they claim are remains of Iranian-made drones, Shahed-136 and Mohajer-6, allegedly used in Ukraine by Russian forces.

Meanwhile, in a call with his Polish counterpart, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said his administration will use all its capacities, including diplomatic channels, to bring an end to the raging war.