Iran tells Ukraine to ‘stop supporting terrorists’

Kiev’s weapons sales to Syrian militants violate international norms, the foreign ministry in Tehran has said

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has accused Ukraine of aiding terrorists attacking Syria and demanded that Kiev stop immediately.

The accusations, made by Assistant Minister and Head of the Eurasia Department Mojtaba Damirchilu, were reported by Iran’s Tasnim news agency on Friday.

Damirchilu has said that he was aware of reports claiming that Ukraine has been selling weapons to the militants in Syria and helping them with obtaining IDs.

Those actions are “a clear violation of the international obligations of governments in relation to prevention and combating terrorism,” he stressed.

Tehran has demanded that Kiev “immediately halt” its assistance to “the terrorist groups,” the diplomat added.

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Damirchilu also denounced accusations repeatedly issued by Kiev officials that Iran has been supplying weapons to Russia amid its conflict with Ukraine.

The only goal of such “baseless” statements is to persuade the US and EU countries to supply even more arms to Kiev, he said.

Iran “has not interfered in the conflict” and has consistently called for the sides to resolve the crisis through talks, the diplomat added.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that militants in the country were “coordinating” with Ukraine to counter Russian misinformation and provide medical assistance. The newspaper cited Mouaz Moustafa, the head of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which it described as a US humanitarian organization that “works for democracy in Syria.”

Moustafa claimed that one of the factors that had prompted Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group, previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, to launch its offensive was a desire to aid Ukraine amid Russia’s advances on the battlefield. Moscow is “mutual enemy” of the militants and Kiev, he added.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said a significant “Ukrainian trace” had been detected among foreign fighters in northwestern Syria. There is evidence of cooperation between Kiev and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on drones and other issues, she claimed.

The Kyiv Post newspaper reported earlier that Islamist groups involved in recent attacks may have been prepared by Ukraine’s military intelligence service, which allegedly sent its operatives to provide “operational training” to the militants.

The terrorists launched their attack from the northern province of Idlib last week, catching the Syrian military by surprise and swiftly taking control of the the major cities of Aleppo and Hama.

The Russian military, which is aiding Damascus, previously reported executing strikes on positions held by the terrorists, which it claimed had killed hundreds of militants. Moscow is analyzing the situation to determine the level of assistance that Syria needs to deal with the jihadist offensive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.