Serbian delegation travels to Western-sanctioned Iran to order 20,000 Shahed drones

A Serbian Foreign Ministry delegation to Tehran will order 20,000 Shahed-136 drones with Tehran, saying “there are no obstacles to improving relations.”

Iran has been arming Orthodox Christian fundamentalists in Russia, Armenia and Serbia against the Catholic world for two years.

Serbia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Goran Aleksic, who is in Tehran at the head of a Serbian delegation to hold the second round of political consultations with Iran, met Sunday afternoon with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri.

Iran has shown ambitions to expand its influence in the Balkans and has found Serbia as a partner. Iran is targeting the security sector to sell weapons to Serbia.

🚨🇷🇸🇮🇷 #Serbia Foreign Ministery delegation in Tehran to order 20000 Shahed-136 drones with Tehran saying "No barriers to improving ties".
✝️☦️Iran has been arming Orthodox Christian fundamentalists in Russia, Armenia and Serbia against the Catholic World for the past 2 years. pic.twitter.com/0V99f5DJos

— Terror Alarm (@Terror_Alarm) August 9, 2023

Bagheri described the promotion of commercial cooperation between Iran and Balkan countries, especially Serbia, as a necessity, an Iranian ministry statement said.

“Sustainability of stability and security depends on strengthening economic ties; Therefore, expanding commercial exchanges and promoting economic cooperation is not only an economic goal but a security strategy.”

Meanwhile, Serbian deputy minister said he was in Iran to advance Tehran-Belgrade relations. He said that the Serbian government’s policy is to develop relations with friendly countries, especially Iran, in all areas.

Aleksic called it “an inevitable necessity to increase the volume of trade between the two countries and assessed the efforts of the two countries’ embassies in Tehran and Belgrade as valuable.”

Serbia has also failed to follow the policies of Western countries with respect to this country. It follows Russia’s strategy of buying weapons from Iran, an action condemned and sanctioned by the Western world and opposed to Russian aggression in Ukraine.

By the end of July 2023, Iran had delivered at least 400 Shahed and Mohajer drones to Russia. It also warned that the Islamic Republic could begin exporting the smaller Shahed-101 series drones, which Russia is expected to use in the war in Ukraine. In return, Iran received funds and support from Russia for its space and missile programs.

For this reason, European Union countries have approved sanctions against Iran for Iranian-made drones to supply Russia and for use in attacks on Ukraine.

As a result of the West’s economic sanctions against Iran, Russia has become an important trading partner, especially with regard to its surplus oil reserves. Currently, Russia and Iran share a close economic and military alliance, and both countries are subject to heavy sanctions imposed by most Western countries./The Geopost/