After the "Shahed", Ukraine reduced the Iranian Embassy to two diplomats: how do relations look now

After Iran handed over Shahed drones to Russia, Ukraine reduced its diplomatic relations with the country, but did not completely stop them, leaving tools to contain the deepening of relations between Tehran and Moscow. This, in response to a request from LIGA.net, was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The agency recalled that in September 2022, after receiving information about the supply of Iranian drones to Russia, Ukraine decided to terminate the accreditation of the Iranian ambassador and significantly reduced the number of diplomatic staff at the country's embassy in Kyiv to two people.

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry points out, the level of representation of the Ukrainian embassy in Iran was downgraded to a temporary charge d'affaires.

Despite the significant restriction of relations with the Islamic Republic, Ukraine has retained "certain communication tools" to continue political and diplomatic pressure to deter Iran from further rapprochement with Russia, in particular, through its embassy in the country, the document says.

"In case of detection and confirmation of the facts of deepening military-technical cooperation between Iran and the Russian Federation, in particular, supplying the Russian aggressor with of Iranian ballistic missile weapons, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will take measures for further political and diplomatic response," the ministry said.

According to him, a special role in the structure of the Ukrainian embassy is played by the military attaché for defense, who is a representative of the Ministry of Defense and "constantly analyzes the military and military-technical spheres of Iran."

It should be noted that in February 2023, the Ukrainian attaché was involved in a scandal because of his participation in a meeting with the commander of the Iranian Air Force on the occasion of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. The event was also attended by a representative of another Russian ally, Belarus, reported Iranian state television.

In addition, the MFA said LIGA.net said that, despite the "difficult political context" of relations between Ukraine and Iran and the strategic cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, the Ukrainian

→ works to prevent the development of Iranian-Russian cooperation in areas that threaten Ukraine's national security;

→ conducts outreach activities with representatives of the country's authorities;

→ conveys the position on the inadmissibility of supplying arms and military equipment to Russia, and the inadmissibility of contacts with representatives of the illegal occupying authorities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine;

→ monitors and analyzes information on the development of cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.

• The MFA also explained to LIGA.net that the Ukrainian Embassy in Belarus continues to operate for a number of reasons, in particular to "minimizing the risks" of Minsk's further involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian war.