Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called for President Joe Biden to sanction a Russia weapons manufacturer that is said to be building drones with Iran to use against Ukraine.
Cotton identified the company as JSC Alabuga and claimed it's receiving technological help from Iran in exchange for Russian military equipment.
Cotton's appeal came in a Friday letter to Biden.
"I write to you regarding the growing defense partnership between Russia and Iran and the need to apply sanctions against the Russian weapons manufacturer JSC Alabuga," Cotton wrote. "As you are aware, Tehran has deepened its relationship with Moscow since February 2022, providing Russia with hundreds of drones for use in its war against Ukraine.
"Recently, we learned that Iran is assisting the Russian company JSC Alabuga to produce its own version of Iran's Shahed-136 kamikaze drone, known as the Geran-2, on Russian soil.
"If not sanctioned soon, Alabuga will reportedly be able to produce 6,000 Geran-2 drones by September 2025. Russian production of combat drones will not only augment Moscow's lethality, it could also augment Tehran's as Russian demand slackens and the ayatollahs can increasingly use its Shahed-136 drones for its own malign purposes.
"Moscow could also share the Geran-2 or its technology with other adversarial parties that threaten our allies to pressure and test American resolve.
"Iran did not share its drone technology for free. In exchange for its assistance, Iran is set to receive Russian military equipment including fighter jets and attack helicopters. Such equipment will doubtlessly be used to defend Iran's nuclear program as it continues its pursuit of the nuclear bomb.
"The growing Russia-Iran axis poses a major threat to the United States and its partners. Your administration must immediately bolster sanctions against both Russia and Iran and impose a severe cost on this anti-American alliance. Sanctioning the company building Iranian drones on Russian soil is the obvious first step."
Meanwhile, Russia launched 21 drones and three cruise missiles at Ukraine overnight, but all the drones and two of the missiles were destroyed before reaching their targets, Ukraine's air force said Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The Iranian-made Shahed drones were headed toward the western region of Khmelnytskyi, the air force said. The region is home to a large air base.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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