Uzbekistan denies assembling Iran's Shahed drones

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan issued a statement denying the information that appeared in the Ukrainian media about the assembly of Iranian drones in the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to the official authorities of Ukraine with a request not to prevent the groundless accusations that could damage bilateral relations from spreading in the Ukrainian media, Report informs, citing Uzbek media.

"We declare that the Republic of Uzbekistan does not cooperate with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the military-technical sphere and does not assemble Iranian military equipment on its territory," the statement said.

Earlier, in a video interview of Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon with Russian-Israeli businessman Leonid Nevzlin, information was provided that production of Iranian military drones was launched in Uzbekistan.

Western countries and Ukraine accused Iran of supplying military drones to the Russian Federation for use during hostilities. Russia and Iran deny the allegations. On October 20, the EU placed Iranian Shahed Aviation Industries, which manufactures Shahed drones, on the sanctions list.

The UK has also imposed sanctions on the manufacturer of Iranian drones.