DUBAI, February 20. /TASS/. Military cooperation between Iran and Russia has nothing to do with the conflict in Ukraine, Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Reza Talaei-Nik said.

"Cooperation between Iran and Russia on military and other tracks began long ago and is not linked with the conflict in Ukraine," Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted the deputy defense minister as saying. Recent events, including the conflict in Ukraine, have not affected relations between Iran and Russia in any way, Talaei-Nik emphasized. The interaction between the two countries is aimed at ensuring stability and security in the region, he added.

On February 17, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the G7 foreign ministers called on Iran to stop assisting the Russian army in the conflict in Ukraine. They also demanded that all countries prevent the supply of components for Iranian drone production programs that are designed to support Russia's military efforts.

Moscow and Tehran have repeatedly rejected speculations that Iran was supplying Russia with drones for their use in Ukraine. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on January 17 that Tehran had never supplied Moscow with drones or missiles for use in Ukraine. In 2022, the top diplomat noted that the republic had provided Russia with drones, but in small amounts and a few months before the special operation in Ukraine. The US and the EU in turn began imposing sanctions against Iran over allegedly supplying drones to Russia after the start of the special military operation.