U.S. Should 'Publicly Shame' Iran for Russia Meddling: Former Army Major

The U.S. should punish Iran for supplying and facilitating Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets, a military expert and former U.S. Army Major has told Newsweek.

Ukraine first reported an attack by the Iranian-supplied Shahed-136 weapons on September 13 and they reportedly wreaked havoc on Monday in the Kyiv, Dnipro and Sumy regions.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Iran had promised to give Russia more drones in addition to surface to surface missiles, citing Iranian officials and diplomats.

The EU and the British government announced they would sanction Iranian individuals and businesses for supplying the drones, which Western allies have said violate U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 barring Iranian transfers of some military technologies.

But John Spencer, who is a retired U.S. Army Major and chair of urban warfare studies at the Madison Policy Forum, said the U.S. should also exercise its diplomatic, military, and economic muscle to stop Iran's supply of drones.

"The U.S., like the U.K., should impose more sanctions on Iran and Russia," he told Newsweek.

"The U.S. and U.N. should publicly shame Iran for supporting Russian war crimes and genocide in Ukraine," he said. "The U.S. and NATO should immediately supply Ukraine with the weapons and equipment needed to destroy Iranian drones and missiles."

This, in his view, should include radars, air defense systems, and longer ranger fires such as ATACMs (Army Tactical Missile System) which can reach the drone launch sites and training location in Crimea and other occupied areas. He also called for legislation to be enacted which designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.

The U.S. said it agreed with Western allies that Iran's supply of drones to Russia violates U.N. sanctions. When contacted for comment, a State Department spokesman referred Newsweek to comments Secretary of State Antony Blinken made on Friday that the U.S. has been "taking action against the provision of UAVs by Iran to anyone that's using them in an aggressive and dangerous way."

Blinken also said "we've sanctioned the entities that we can find that are involved with this." Newsweek has contacted the Iranian foreign ministry for comment.

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told a briefing on Thursday that Iranian personnel were on the ground in Crimea to help Russian forces use the drones and rejected Tehran's claims that it was not the supplier.

Iran is also believed to have given Russia Shahed 129s and Shahed 191s, as well the Mohajer-6 drone, although Tehran has denied supplying any drones. The Mohajer-6 and the Shahed-129 are bigger than the delta shaped Shahed-136 and can be used for reconnaissance purposes and intelligence gathering as well as carry guided missiles.

"There are several drone types that are also in Russian possession right now that have dual capabilities," Austin Warnick, an analyst at risk intelligence firm Flashpoint recently told Newsweek.

Experts have said that the drones offer little military strategic value for Russia as it suffers setbacks in the face of a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ryder said that the drones were "psychological weapons used to create fear" although this did not mean that it would stop Russian forces from losing territory.

Marina Miron, a research fellow from the Defense Studies Department at King's College London (KCL) told Newsweek that "drones are a force multiplier for Russia," which are having an impact "especially in the information domain and psychologically."

Update 10/22/22, 12.30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with a State Department response.