‘War crimes’: Iran now teaching Russian troops how to use drones in Crimea

A worrying new threat has emerged in war-ravaged Ukraine after Russia secured the support of a particularly concerning ally.

Iran now teaching Russian troops how to use drones in Crimea. Pictures: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Sepah News/Stringer

Concern is building after it emerged that a rogue nation is now assisting Russia and “enabling war crimes” in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, several current and former US officials told The New York Times that members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were now in Russian-occupied Crimea to help teach Putin’s troops how to operate an arsenal of Iranian drones which they recently purchased.

The first load of Iranian drones arrived in August, and the order includes Shaheds – single-use drones designed to detonate and obliterate targets, which have a range of more than 1600km – as well as Mohajer-6 drones, which are capable of carrying four missiles.

So far, Iranian drones have been used against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and civilian targets.

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Russian soldiers walks along a street in Mariupol. Picture: Alexander Nemenov/AFP

In fact, on Tuesday this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Russian strikes had destroyed 30 per cent of Ukrainian power stations over an eight-day period this month, which he described as a likely attempt to demoralise the Ukrainian people.

It was also confirmed by the Institute for the Study of War’s Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, which said the Iranian training was “enabling likely Russian war crimes”.

“Russian forces have directed dozens of Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones against civilian targets in Ukraine since mid-September, prioritising creating psychological terror effects on Ukrainian civilians rather than achieving tangible battlefield effects,” the report said.

It is understood the IRGC troops are staying at a military base in Crimea as they troubleshoot issues with the weapons and train the Russians.

Iran is supplying hundreds of drones with combat weapon capabilities to Russia for use in Ukraine. Picture: Sepah News/AFP

According to The New York Times, Russian drone operators initially made a series of errors which meant they were unable to use the weapons at all, with further mechanical issues also causing headaches.

As a result, the decision was made to send Iranian troops to Crimea, after Russian personnel had previously travelled to Iran for initial training.

It’s not yet known how many Iranians are on the ground in Crimea, and whether they are there purely for training purposes, or if they are playing a more active role by actually flying the drones.

The US and EU have announced it will impose sanctions on Iran over the supply of the drones, although Iran has publicly denied the move.

Iran ‘enmeshed deeply’ into the war

Experts say the purchase of the drones and the presence of the IRGC troops in Crimea revealed Russia was running out of precision-guided weapons and that Western sanctions against Moscow were working – but that concerningly, it also proved the growing friendship between the two nations.

Former senior Pentagon official and retired CIA officer Mick Mulroy told the Times Iran’s involvement was a “substantial” development that showed the strengthening ties between the two countries.

“Sending drones and trainers to Ukraine has enmeshed Iran deeply into the war on the Russian side and involved Tehran directly in operations that have killed and injured civilians,” he told the publication.

In 2019, former US president Donald Trump revealed America was designating Iran’s elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a terrorist organisation.

At the time, he said the “unprecedented” move “recognises the reality that Iran is not only a state sponsor of terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft”.

Members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps are now training Russian troops. Picture: Stringer/AFP

In recent months, concern has been growing regarding Iran’s capabilities and intentions, with officials now openly talking about the possibility of building nuclear bombs – an alarming prospect that has previously been denied by Tehran.

In 2015, Iran agreed to a groundbreaking nuclear deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – with several global powers including China, France, Russia, the UK, the US, Germany and the European Union.

In a nutshell, the deal curbed Iran’s nuclear capabilities and lifted tough economic sanctions against the country in return.

But in 2018, Trump sensationally walked away from the accord, claiming it advantaged Iran.

The US then ramped up sanctions against the nation, including slashing its crude oil sales by more than 80 per cent.

Since then, Iran has taken more and more steps away from the deal by increasing its nuclear technologies.