2023-10-05 00:08:34
The United States will send thousands of weapons seized from Iran to Ukraine. The strategy, in the crucial phase of the war between Ukraine and Russia, is developed by the United States Central Command, Centcom, according to which already on Monday over one million seized Iranian munitions were transferred to Kiev. In this way, US officials told CNN, it would be possible to alleviate some shortcomings that the Ukrainian army faces as it waits for more money and equipment from the United States and its allies.
In Washington, on the other hand, we are experiencing a particular moment. The law approved to avoid a federal government shutdown freezes further funding for Kiev for now. In the House of Representatives, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has just been dismissed, having fallen due to his more extremist Republican colleagues. There’s enough to alarm President Joe Biden: all of this concerns me, but I know there is a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said they will support funding for Ukraine.
Iranian weapons in Kiev, the US strategy
Iranian weapons, therefore, arrive at the right time to ensure the continuity of military aid. “The government came into possession of these munitions on July 20, 2023, after the Department of Justice’s confiscation requests against the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards, the Pasdaran, reads the note from the United States Central Command.
In July the US Department of Justice announced that it would request the confiscation of ”over nine thousand rifles, 284 machine guns, approximately 194 rocket launchers, over 70 anti-tank guided missiles and over 700 thousand ammunition” seized from Iran by the US Navy. These weapons are stored at Centcom bases in the Middle East.
In the last year, CNN recalls, the US Navy has seized thousands of Iranian assault rifles and more than a million rounds of ammunition from ships used by Iran to ship weapons to the Shiite Houthi militiamen active in Yemen. The seizures, often carried out with regional partners, target small stateless boats on routes historically used to smuggle weapons to the Houthis.
The US Department of Justice has been working for months to try to find a legal path to send the confiscated weapons to Ukraine. “Ultimately, Ukraine needs various supplies for the war effort, and while this is not a solution to all of Ukraine’s military needs, it will provide critical support,” said Jonathan Lord, director of the Security Program in Middle East at the Center for a New American Security. Sending Iranian weapons to the Ukrainian military could have consequences for Russia. ”For over a year Iranian drones in the hands of the Russian military have been used to attack and kill Ukrainian civilians,” Lord said.
Ukraine, talks with Italy for long-range missiles
Kiev, meanwhile, continues to keep channels open with all Western partners, including Italy. “I had a constructive call with my Italian colleague Guido Crosetto. I am grateful to Italy for the constant military assistance provided to Ukraine and for participation in the international coalition”, writes Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem in a post on Umerov, according to whom Crosetto discussed “urgent needs at the front: long-range missile systems and electronic warfare systems”.
“I invited Italy and Italian companies to invest in Ukraine’s military industry. I would be happy to welcome Crosetto to Ukraine in the near future,” adds Umerov.
“Congratulations on the recent appointment as Ukrainian Defense Minister. We will continue to support Ukraine by favoring the path of dialogue to reaffirm the law and achieve a just peace”, Crosetto’s post.
The Italian Defense Minister, on Sky, focuses on the hypothesis of a new aid package. “When we talk about supplies to Ukraine there are two aspects: a political one and then a technical one, to see what we are able to give without endangering the need to always preserve the Italian defense. There is a continuous request from Ukrainian side of aid, we need to check what we are able to give compared to what they would need: the availability of the eighth package is there, but for now it is only a declaration of intent”, he tells Sky Tg24 in part of the ‘Sky 20 years’ celebrations.
“Italy has done a lot, it has focused a lot on anti-aircraft defense systems to stop attacks on civil and energy infrastructures, on cities, on schools. – adds Crosetto – The problem is that you don’t have unlimited resources. And from that point of view, Italy has done almost everything it could do, there isn’t much further space.”
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