Ukraine has encircled Iran with drones, Tehran claims

Iran has accused Ukraine of establishing a covert drone network near its borders.

TodayPress TV reports that Iran’s Tasnim news agency has alleged that Ukraine has set up clandestine operational networks in neighbouring countries, including Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, and deployed thousands of small drones.

According to the agency, an unnamed security source claimed that Ukrainian operators had deployed thousands of micro-drones in Iraqi Kurdistan as part of a broader network operating in areas close to Iranian territory. The source did not identify the other countries allegedly involved in the network and provided no independently verifiable evidence of the reported drone deployments.

Tasnim also referred to an incident in the summer of 2025. At the time, police in Sulaymaniyah announced the arrest of three Ukrainian nationals suspected of organising training for members of a local group in the use of small drones. However, the arrests alone do not establish the existence of the broader network alleged by the Iranian source.

These claims point to growing concern in Tehran that Ukraine’s drone expertise, developed during its war against Russia, could spread beyond the conflict. Ukraine has accumulated extensive operational experience with small unmanned aerial vehicles, capabilities that also carry strategic significance for other regional conflicts.

Jala Rovshan