Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian slammed Ukraine in response to a question, claiming that Ukraine is a potential “black market” for weapons.
The Iranian diplomat was at the Doha Forum speaking about Iran’s policies. He admitted that Iran “used to provide all kinds of support to Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.” He then said that these terror groups “if you ask me where they can obtain weapons, then one of the black markets where they can get them is Ukraine. Very easily, without much effort they can get whatever [they need] in Ukraine.”
Russian state media used the Iranian foreign minister’s comments to push the headline: “Hezbollah, Hamas able to purchase all weapons in Ukraine with ease — top Iranian diplomat.”
Iran vs. Ukraine
The slander against Ukraine is in contrast to the fact Ukraine has condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, while Russia has not. Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky condemned the Hamas attack on October 7.
“Anyone who resorts to terror commits a crime against the world. Whoever finances terror is committing a crime against the world. The world must stand united and in solidarity so that terror does not attempt to break or subjugate life anywhere and at any moment,” Zelensky said at the time. Russia did not condemn the attack.
Iran has backed Hamas, Hezbollah, PIJ, the Houthis and other proxies in the region and called them on them to increase attacks on the US and Israel.
Hossein Amir Abdollahian was speaking in Qatar. Doha has hosted Hamas for many years. The Iranian diplomat has met with Hamas leaders in Qatar over the last two months. The Iranian diplomat was speaking at the Doha Forum.
Russia’s state TASS media highlighted his comments against Ukraine. Russia did this because it invaded Ukraine last year. Iran supplies Russia with drones used against Ukraine. “Lebanon-based Shiite organization Hezbollah and Gaza-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas can easily procure whatever weapons they need in Ukraine via illicit purchases, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said,” Tass media reported.
It quoted the Iranian foreign minister: "You see, in the past - I wish to be absolutely frank with you - we used to provide all kinds of support to Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad while taking into account [both] international law and the conditions of confronting the occupier (implying Israel - TASS)," Abdollahian said at the Doha Forum.
The Iranian was answering a question about Tehran’s support for the terror groups. "If you ask me where they can obtain weapons, then one of the black markets where they can get them is Ukraine. Very easily, without much effort they can get whatever [they need] in Ukraine," Abdollahian said. He then claimed that Hamas and Hezbollah can produce their own weapons.
The Russian statement then described the Hamas attack on Israel as “militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly.”
The Iranian foreign minister’s comments bashing Ukraine were not widely reported outside of Russian media. However, it is clear that the comments did take place.
The Iranian minister’s comments and Russia highlighting them raise questions. Iran and Russia have worked closely together in recent years. Iran supplies Russia with drones and Iran seeks to acquire other defense technologies from Russia. Russian media wants to highlight anti-Ukraine views.
The Iranian foreign minister is calculated in his comments. He made them in Doha, where Hamas leaders reside, in a major forum. He sought to portray Ukraine as a black market for weapons as a way of slamming the West and Ukraine. These comments were designed to gain Iran favors in Russia. It was also designed to deflect critique of Iran for backing terror groups and instability in the region.
Iran was basically trying to imply that if extremist groups acquire weapons today, they are also getting them from countries linked to the West. The goal here was to accomplish several things at the same time; to deflect critique from Iran, to deflect critique of Hamas and Hezbollah, to bolster Iran-Russia ties, and to slam Ukraine in a public forum in Doha.