UK Defence Secretary John Healey said on Thursday that Vladimir Putin may be influencing Iran’s use of drone attacks in its war with the United States and Israel.
Healey suggested the Russian president’s “hidden hand” could be behind some of the tactics used by Tehran in the conflict, which began after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Speaking to reporters during a visit to Britain’s military headquarters in Northwood, near London, Healey said officials were examining an Iranian-made drone that struck the UK’s RAF Akrotiri air base on March 1 for possible foreign components.
“We will update you and appropriately publish any findings from that when we’ve got them,” he said.
“But I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics, potentially some of their capabilities as well — not least because one world leader benefiting from sky-high oil prices at the moment is Putin,” he added.
Russia is a close ally of Iran, with the two countries agreeing last year to cooperate against what they described as “common threats.” US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had no indication that Russia was supporting Iran in the war, though he added that if it were, it was not “helping much.”
Nick Perry, the British military’s chief of joint operations, told Healey there were “definitive” signs of a connection between Russia and Iran, including Tehran’s use of drones “as learned from the Russians.” No one was injured when the drone struck a hangar at RAF Akrotiri, while British warplanes shot down two more drones heading for the base the same day.
Separately, Brigadier Guy Foden said UK troops stationed at a military base housing international coalition forces in Erbil, Iraq, helped shoot down two Iranian drones on Wednesday.
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