Uzbekistan denies rumors about assembling Iranian drones on its territory 

The State Defense Industry Committee of Uzbekistan rejected the claims that Uzbekistan is assembling Iranian combat unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) used in armed conflicts in Ukraine.

The committee noted that Uzbekistan never produced military equipment together with Iranian partners.

According to the committee, the publication of unconfirmed information will lead the public to wrong information and may harm Uzbekistan’s friendly relations with foreign partners to some extent.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan also issued a statement regarding such reports.

“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.

In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan appeals to the official government of Ukraine to take appropriate measures to prevent the dissemination of such groundless accusations and other unreliable information about Uzbekistan in the Ukrainian mass media, which may damage bilateral relations,” the statement reads.

Earlier, in an interview with a Ukrainian journalist, Russian-Israeli businessman Leonid Nevzlin claimed that military drones are being assembled in cooperation with Iran at a factory in Uzbekistan.

“Iranian military drones are assembled at military factories in Iraq and Uzbekistan before being delivered to Russia,” he said.