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What’s Next for Russian Arms Dealer?
Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer the U.S. swapped for WNBA star Brittney Griner last week, officially joined a far-right, ultranationalist party in Russia, which could set him up for a seat in the Russian parliament.
The notorious arms dealer — known as the “Merchant of Death”— received his membership to the pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) on Monday.
The leader of the LDPR, Leonid Slutsky, thanked Bout for joining “the best political party in today’s Russia.”
Despite its name, the LDPR adopts a hardline, ultranationalist ideology. Since its founding in 1992, the party has demanded Russia reconquer the countries of the former Soviet Union, according to Reuters. It has backed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bout returned home last week after a high-profile prisoner exchange for U.S. basketball star Griner, who had been in Russian custody since February. Griner was found guilty of drug smuggling in early August and was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.
Bout has spent the past 12 years in an American jail, after being found guilty of conspiring to support terrorists and kill Americans.
He was a prominent international arms dealer during the 1990s and is believed to have done business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Angola, Liberia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. He was caught and arrested in Thailand in 2008 after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency sting operation.
In an interview with the Russian state television network RT last week, Bout said he “wholeheartedly” supports Putin’s war in Ukraine, adding that he would “certainly go as a volunteer” if he had the chance.
The arms dealer also said he had a picture of Putin in his prison cell, telling RT, “Why not? I’m proud that I’m Russian and that our president is Putin.”
Roger García Ordaz makes no secret of his many attempts to flee.
He has tried to leave Cuba 11 times on boats made of wood, Styrofoam, and resin, and has a tattoo for each failed attempt, including three boat mishaps and eight times picked up at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard and sent home.
Hundreds of homemade, rickety boats have left this year from the shores of Baracoa, a fishing village west of Havana where García, 34, lives — so many that locals call the town “Terminal Three.”
“Of course, I am going to keep on throwing myself into the sea until I get there,” he said. “Or if the sea wants to take my life, so be it.”
Living conditions in Cuba under Communist rule have long been precarious, but today, deepening poverty and hopelessness have set off the largest exodus from the Caribbean island nation since Fidel Castro rose to power over a half-century ago.
The country has been hit by a onetwo punch of tighter U.S. sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic, which eviscerated one of Cuba’s lifelines — the tourism industry. Food has become even more scarce and more expensive, lines at pharmacies with scant supplies begin before dawn, and millions of people endure daily hours-long blackouts.
Over the past year, nearly 250,000 Cubans, more than 2% of the island’s 11 million population, have migrated to the United States, most of them arriving at the southern border by land, according to U.S. government data.
Even for a nation known for mass exodus, the current wave is remarkable —
By: Rabbi Eliezer Sandler Gedolei Torah Engage in Unique Pilpul-Farher With Shas Yiden Avreichim Geonim
Seven Gedolei Torah spent hours enjoying true give-and-take at the Shas Yiden 100 Siyumei Hashasim. No longer was the associated annual farher just questions and answers. The thrust and parry of true debate enthralled the Gedolim, the avreichim geonim and the American and UK visitors alike. It raised the concept of a 'Shas farher' to a new and dynamic height!
The annual farheren of the entire Shas and Siyum Hashassim gatherings of the Kollel Shas Yiden Network have evolved into a tradition demonstrating incredible, detailed and broad Torah scholarship. The video recordings are eagerly anticipated for viewing worldwide by talmidei chachomim and yeshiva bochrim alike (www.shasyiden.com). Until his last year, the avreichim geonim would cram into the home of the late Nasi, Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Hagadol Harav Chaim Kanievsky, ztk”l, where he would farher them extensively, and which he said gave him great pleasure.
The 'line-up' of the Geonim, shlit”a at this year's siyum in Beit Shemesh who tested the mettle of the avreichim geonim last week are a veritable Who's Who of Torah learning - Maran Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Maran Harav Itamar Garbuz, Harav Yaakov Ades, Harav Elimelech Biederman, Harav Shmuel Yaakov Landau and Harav Eliyahu Stefansky. Among those who graced the dais was Harav Mordechai Stern, Rav of Heichal Dovid, Lawrence, NY.
Farher by Maran Hagaon Harav Itamar Garbuz, Rosh Yeshivas Orchos Torah & Rosh Kollel Taharos, flanked by the Pozna Rov, Founder of Shas Yiden and Hagaon Harav Moshe Isaac Samet, Rosh Kollelei Shas Yiden
Pozna Rov, Founder of Shas Yiden greets Maran Hagaon Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Rosh Yeshivas Ateres Yisroel
The Pozna Rov, Harav Hagaon Avrohom Eisen, shlit”a, founder of Shas Yiden 14 years ago, started this tradition to give honor to the avreichim geonim who study at Shas Yiden. It is also to give the supporters of this great and holy project the opportunity to see close up the fruits of their support month after month, and to develop more and more avreichim geonim who have a remarkable knowledge of every word of the Talmud, Rashi and Tosafos. The Gedolei Torah have come to look forward to engaging with the avreichim geonim of Shas Yiden.
The Bren of Torah Invigorates
Maran Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Rosh Yeshivas Ateres Yisroel and a Senior Member of Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, has a grandson at Shas Yiden. Despite his advanced age, weak state of health and the effort needed to attend, Rav Ezrachi came to Beit Shemesh and climbed the stairs to the dais on the stage. Yet, as he began to debate the avreichim geonim and discuss specific and complicated sections of the Talmud, any hint of tiredness or weakness vanished and his face shone with excitement and joy at the incredible knowledge flowing from the avreichim geonim. He became even more enthused when he asked questions on sugyos (issues/subjects) in kodshim that required careful and deep reasoning. He was simply amazed to hear how the avreichim geonim managed to quickly and easily respond to all these questions with clear answers. "Hopefully my portion should be with yours," said Rav Ezrachi with much emotion. "I am sure that in Heaven there must be a tumultuous response to these moments -- with a hundred avreichim geonim who know all the words of Shas. In truth, one should be jealous of you for this great feeling, as you are able to study and contemplate Shas the whole year through, and how it lives with you before your very eyes. The fact that there is a group of incredible talmidei chachomim like you, puts the entire people of Israel on a different level. It obliges us all to express
Farher by Maran Hagaon Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Rosh Yeshivas Ateres Yisroel. Also on the dais (l-r) Hagaon Harav Mordechai Stern, Rav Heichal Dovid, Lawrence, NY; Pozna Rov, Founder of Shas Yiden, Maran Hagaon Harav Itamar Garbuz, Rosh Yeshivas Orchos Torah & Rosh Kollel Taharos
our great appreciation to the Pozna Rov who came up with this idea of establishing such an institution, and he has truly given the Jewish people of Israel a gift that is beyond compare."
Questions - Complicated and Complex
Maran Rosh Yeshivas Orchos Torah, Hagaon Harav Itamar Garbuz, enjoyed the lively interaction with the avreichim geonim for an extended session and tested them through the length and breadth of Shas and expressed his amazement at the incredible knowledge of the avreichim geonim.
His questions focused on all-encompassing knowledge of concepts and issues. For example: How many disputes between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon are there in Maseches Shabbos? The avreichim geonim noted not only listed them, but added many halachic references regarding difference between Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Yehuda, as well as the comments of Tosfos throughout the length of Maseches Shabbos. And then they branched off into the differences that apply in Maseches Eiruvin that also deals extensively with the laws of Shabbos. He peppered the avreichim geonim with numerous such questions, addressing groups of five at a time before opening the questions to the others. The answers flowed forth at an amazing pace, much to the pleasure of the participants and that of the attendees from abroad who were excited at the incredible standard of Torah knowledge they were witnessing.
After an extensive session with the avreichim geonim, with great enthusiasm, Rav Garbuz exclaimed that it was a great honor and zechus for him to have this opportunity to engage with such avreichim geonim in Torah learning. "In you, the Jewish people are to be blessed," he said. "It is impossible to estimate or to describe the greatness of the zechus of those who support this holy project that raises the grandeur of Israel and the holy Torah in such an amazing fashion."
Shabbos Reaction at Maran Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, shlit”a
On the Shabbos after the Siyumim-farher, Rav Boruch Mordechai could not contain his excitement about what he had witnessed at Shas Yiden. So, reported one of those who joined him at his Shabbos seuda.
He regaled them about the farher in which he had participated, describing the geonus (brilliance) that pulsated in the hall from the 100 avreichim geonim. “I have never been so moved and excited at a public gathering,” declared Rav Boruch Mordechai. “Happy is my portion that I was zocheh to witness this wondrous happening!”
The Mashpia Hagadol - the Great Motivator
The mashpia hagadol 'Reb Meilech' Biederman burst out with a clarion call: “You see seated before you 100 avreichim geonim who know the entire Shas. Literally, 100 holy aronei kodesh (holy Torah arks) before our eyes. How immense is the zechus of the donors and supporters! Through support for this cause, your merit and destiny will be enhanced for the good and for success in all matters, both material and spiritual."
Practical Halacha
Harav Shmuel Yaakov Landau, Dayan and Rav of the Belz Beis Medrash 'Yad Cohen' in Beit Shemesh, has a son-in-law among the avreichim geonim. He debated with the avreichim geonim at length
Farher by Hagaon Harav Shmuel Yaakov Landau, Belz Dayan & Rav Yad Cohen, Beit Shemesh. Also on the dais (l-r) Hagaon Harav Eliyohu Stefansky, World-renowned Magid Shiur of 18,000 daily; Hagaon Harav Moshe Isaac Samet, Rosh Kollelei Shas Yiden
Farher by Hamekubal Hagaon Harav Yaakov Ades with the Pozna Rov, Founder of Shas Yiden and Hagaon Harav Moshe Isaac Samet, Rosh Kollelei Shas Yiden
through a number of sugyos. Among them was the sugya dealing with "A person cannot transfer or sell something that does not yet exist", such as futures etc. He also dealt with the question of whether a person may appoint a messenger to perform a mission regarding something that does not yet exist, and other matters in this regard.
Spellbinding Give and Take
Nothing short of spellbinding was the give-andtake between Harav Yaakov Ades and the avreichim geonim. He began with words of encouragement and then launched into debate on sugyos throughout Shas. He demonstrated incredible bekius and it was as if the entire Shas was an open book in front of his eyes. He just could not hold back from the torrent of discussion with the avreichim geonim and continued to speak with them at length as his face shone with the joy of the Torah. And the avreichim geonim loved the intensity of the give-and-take.
After Rav Ades came away with a deep impression of the scholarship of the avreichim geonim, he turned to the donors who were watching the give-and-take with unconcealed enjoyment, he said to them: "I have a good idea for you. If any of you was thinking of making a donation to Shas Yiden, you should double it! And if you can, add a few zeros! You should know that the zechus of supporting such a great and holy project, is indeed significant, and it's not a simple matter. Such support obligates the avreichim geonim as well. You have to pray for the donors and supporters, and that they should be blessed with all that is good through the power of the Torah and your tefillos!
Reaction of a Shas Yiden Avreich
Shortly after the Siyumim-farher, one of the avreichim geonim commented. “I am just 27 and I tell you the truth - I never dreamed that I would get to this point in my learning. To know the entire Shas? For me, this was something achieved in previous generations.
However, here at Shas Yiden, I have managed to achieve the unbelievable in the merit of the framework, the unique methodology of learning that includes many, many revisions amid unceasing progress through the texts. I am excited today as never before, even my day of marriage…
Overheard at the Siyumim
Two fathers of two of the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim were sitting together at the Siyumim Dinner, discussing their feelings of joy at the simcha in which their sons played an important part. “If all the gedolim here were not present, I would jump up and dance with abandonment - I have to hold myself back,” said one.
The other responded, “Even when I married off my children, I did not experience such incredible joy. This is just unbelievable, my son completed Shas and was tested on it thoroughly. My son knows Shas! It was worth being born, toiling all these years just to get to this most memorable occasion. I have merited to marry off all my children, and I must confess that I have never experienced such simcha as I do now.”
Siyum Shassim, Presentations and the Dinner
After the lengthy farheren, there was a heartfelt and inspirational maariv led by Harav Ades. This was followed by the Siyum Shassim - each of the avreichim geonim had concluded Shas for the year.
Each of the kollel wives was personally presented with a cash-filled envelope in appreciation of their unstinting support for their husbands' dedication to the very demanding study regimen at Shas Yiden. A sumptuous dinner followed for the kovod Hatorah, and in honor of those who support Torah, accompanied by song and music by Aharon Samet. All present agreed that the incredible engagement-farher and siyumim combined to be a Torah happening to remember.
Harav Hagaon Eli Stefansky PLUS Shas Yiden = A WOW
A Daf to 18,000 Yiden Every Day!
Harav Hagaon Eliyahu Stefansky, Nasi of the Mercaz Daf Hayomi, conducts the most popular and populous shiur in the world, and he does so to 18,000 listeners Sunday to Friday. He gives a Daf Hayomi shiur in English. His unique style, broad scholarship in colloquial English peppered with witty and forceful comments and appropriate personal greetings that are at once charming and meaningful has earned him an enthusiastic international reputation. He was one of the farherers in fluent and colloquial Hebrew, and with a smile and he captured the imagination and enthusiastic response of the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim.
The morning following the farher he prefaced his daily shiur with the following:
“A very special thing happened to me yesterday. There are chaburas known as Shas Yiden - a hundred kollel guys - about 5 or 6 kollelim in Israel in a network called 'Shas Yiden'.
“These avreichim geonim finish Shas every year, and they know Shas cold… If you go on line (www. shasyiden.com) you can see Rav Chaim Kanievsky farhering them… And other gedolei Torah farhering them.
“Well, last night Rav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi (94 years old) the oldest of the Rosh Yeshivos, and some other Rosh Yeshivos farhered them… and they asked me also to farher them, and so I did.
“It was an amazing and special experience…”
Rav Stefansky addressed the avreichim geonim on many subjects in Shas. Then he 'pulled out his 'bag of tricks'. “I started out calm and easy and then I suddenly pulled out my illustrations that were especially created for the occasion. They then had to decipher them and their riddles as to which subjects in Shas were being depicted, the context, the outcome and the halacha. This, too, developed into an extended and lively session. It was quite exceptional.
“It was a great zchus for me to test them. Truth is that I was not surprised at their knowledge because one of them is my chavrusa, and in our kollel we have another avreich who learns there in the afternoon - Belzer chosid, so I am familiar with them. “But all together, it was just amazing. Their knowledge… Afterwards I was talking with them and I asked: 'Is there anyone here with a normal, average brain? Someone who is not an illuy and with a head of a gaon? In answer to my question, many of them raised their hands. So, I asked them for ideas or suggestions for chazora and memorizing, and that opened up an interesting discussion on the subject. “Among all my questions I asked these: Where in the entire Shas are there seven consecutive words that begin with the Hebrew letter Chaf? A: Nedarim 10b Where in Shas are there 44 consecutive words that end with the Hebrew letter Nun? A: Shabbos 104 In our sugya we just learned about Bar Padda, and I noticed a note in Art Scroll that says that he was the nephew of Bar Kappara. (Meilah 4) So, I casually asked who was Bar Padda's uncle. All of a sudden all of them, and they each had a microphone, and all called out together - Bar Kappara, Bar Kappara - Meila Daf Dalet, Meila Daf Dalet. It was crazy, just crazy. Where does the Masores Hashas note a sugya (issue/subject) that is found on five consecutive folios of Shas? A: Gittin 20 - 24 - dealing with witnesses effecting a get. “An incredible, amazing experience … Every year they chazer Shas, every year…” Farher by Hagaon Harav Eliyohu Stefansky, World-renowned Magid Shiur of 18,000 listeners daily. Also on the dais (l-r) Hagaon Harav Shmuel Yaakov Landau, Belz Dayan & Rav Yad Cohen, Beit Shemesh; Pozna Rov, Founder of Shas Yiden; Hamekubal Hagaon Harav Yaakov Ades
18 larger than the 1980 Mariel boatlift and the 1994 Cuban rafter crisis combined, until recently the island’s two biggest miThe Jewish Home | DECEMBER 15, 2022 gration events. But while those movements peaked within a year, experts say this migration has no end in sight and threatens the stability of a country that already has one of the hemisphere’s oldest populations. The avalanche of Cubans leaving has also become a challenge for the United States. Now one of the highest sources of migrants after Mexico, Cuba has become a top contributor to the crush of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. The departure of many younger, working-age Cubans augurs a bleak demographic future for the country. The hemorrhaging of Cubans from their homeland is nothing short of “devastating,” said Elaine Acosta González, a research associate at Florida International University. “Cuba is depopulating.” (© The New York Times)
Lockerbie Bomber in U.S. Custody
A Libyan man accused of being involved in making the bomb that de-
The U.S. charged Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi for his alleged involvement in the bombing two years ago. The attack killed 270 people as the bomb detonated over the Scottish town as it flew from London to New York.
The U.S. Justice Department issued a statement on Sunday morning confirming that the U.S. had “taken custody of alleged Pan Am flight 103 bombmaker” Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir AlMarimi.
Al-Marimi had been in custody in Libya for unrelated crimes when he was charged by the U.S. Justice Department two years ago.
Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi was accused along with Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah of placing explosives in a portable cassette and radio player that was inside a suitcase on the plane. Megrahi was sentenced in 2001 to 27 years in prison but was released from prison after being diagnosed with cancer. He died in 2012. Fhimah was acquitted.
The Lockerbie bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack to have taken place in the United Kingdom. It killed 259 people on board the airliner, along with 11 on the ground.
Iran Continues with Public Executions
After months of protests in Iran that have only escalated as the government’s crackdown has turned deadlier, officials have begun publicly executing protesters, bringing a new wave of outrage from an Iranian public calling for the end of the country’s theocratic regime.
The hangings — the first was Thursday at a prison near Tehran, the second Monday in the northwestern city of Mashhad — have brought intense condemnation from the public and human rights groups, and even criticism from some senior figures within Iran’s clerical establishment who questioned the religious validity of the death sentences.
Since the protests began in September, Iran’s security forces have killed hundreds of Iranians, in a harsh response characterized by mass arrests and beatings, military assaults, and the killing of dozens of teenagers and children. Human rights groups say at least 450 protesters have died, and the United Nations says 14,000 have been arrested.
Now, the public executions are widely being taken as a last-ditch effort by the government to suppress an uprising that has become the most profound and widespread since the 1979 revolution that brought the clerics to power. In addition to street protests in dozens of cities several times a week, a general-strike campaign has picked up momentum across the country.
On Monday, Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged in public in Mashhad. Photos by state media showed a crowd of onlookers gazing at his body hanging from a crane with a sack covering his head. The time from his arrest to execution, on charges of killing two plainclothes Basij militia, spanned less than a month.
Four days earlier, Mohsen Shekari, a 23-year-old who worked at a coffee shop in Tehran, was executed at a prison 20 miles from the capital on allegations that he blocked the road and stabbed a member of the Basij militia during protests in Tehran.
Rights groups say the trials of the two men resembled “lynching committees” with no judicial due process.
The public hangings have shaken Iran and sparked widespread fury that risks further fueling the unrest instead of containing it. Both executions spawned immediate and large street protests in the two men’s home neighborhoods.
At least 11 other protesters have been sentenced to death, according to Amnesty International.
Three others have been convicted of charges that could carry the death penalty but have not yet been sentenced, and six other men are awaiting trial on potential capital offenses. (© The New York Times)
New Zealand Tackles Cigarettes
This week, New Zealand passed into law a unique plan to phase out tobacco smoking by imposing a lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes.
The law states that tobacco can’t ever be sold to anybody born on or after January 1, 2009.
That means that the minimum age for buying cigarettes will keep going up and up. In theory, somebody trying to buy a pack of cigarettes 50 years from now would need ID to show they were at least 63 years old.
But health authorities hope smoking will fade away well before then. They have a stated goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025.
20 The new law also reduces the number of retailers allowed to sell tobacco from about 6,000 to 600 and decreases the The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 15, 2022 amount of nicotine allowed in tobacco that is smoked. “There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it,” Associate Minister of Health Dr. Ayesha Verrall told lawmakers in Parliament. “And I can tell you that we will end this in the future, as we pass this legislation.” She said the health system would save billions of dollars from not needing to treat illnesses caused by smoking, such as cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and amputations. Verrall add that the bill would create generational change and leave a legacy of better health for youth. Lawmakers voted along party lines in passing the legislation 76 to 43. The libertarian ACT party, which opposed the bill, said many small corner stores, known in New Zealand as dairies, would go out of business because they would no longer be able to sell cigarettes. It also noted that the ban will help a black market to flourish. The law does not affect vaping, which has already become more popular than smoking in New Zealand. Statistics New Zealand reported last month that 8% of New Zealand adults smoked daily, down from 16% ten years ago. Meanwhile, 8.3% of adults vaped daily, up from less than 1% six years ago.
Smoking rates remain higher among Indigenous Māori, with about 20% reporting they smoked.
New Zealand already restricts cigarette sales to those aged 18 and over, requires tobacco packs to come with graphic health warnings, and demands that cigarettes are sold in standardized packs. There are also hefty taxes imposed on cigarettes.
Zelensky is Time’s Person of the Year
Last week, Time named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky its “person of the year” for galvanizing “the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades.”
“From his first 40-second Instagram post on Feb. 25 — showing that his Cabinet and civil society were intact and in place — to daily speeches delivered remotely to the likes of houses of Parliament, the World Bank, and the Grammy Awards, Ukraine’s President was everywhere,” Edward Felsenthal, editor-in-chief of Time, wrote in an article explaining the choice. “His information offensive shifted the geopolitical weather system, setting off a wave of action that swept the globe.”
Zelensky is the fifth Jew to claim the honor in the magazine’s almost 100 years of awarding it. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg earned it in 2010, former Treasury Secretary Ben Bernanke won it in 2009, former business executive Andrew Grove won in 1997, and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger earned the award in 1972.
Since the outbreak of Russia’s war against Ukraine in February, Zelensky has emerged as a hero around the world. The former comedian and actor, first glorified for staying put in Ukraine as the violence threatened his life, is seen a fearless leader, brave and determined to stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Scandal in European Parliament
At least 1.5 million euros in cash is part of the assets seized by the Belgian police during searches of the homes of a vice president of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, dismissed by the institution on Tuesday, and the Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, in the operation for a plot of alleged bribes from Qatar to gain political and economic weight in Brussels.
Along with Panzeri and Kaili, both from the European Social Democrat family, Francesco Giorgi – Kaili’s parliamentary assistant – and a fourth person remain detained in the framework of the investigation.
According to local press reports, it was the arrest of Eva Kaili’s father last Friday in a Brussels hotel with a suitcase full of “several hundred thousand euros” in cash that served to demonstrate the “flagrant crime” that allowed the authorities to arrest Eva Kaili and search her apartment despite her parliamentary immunity.
Kalili’s attorney says her client has “nothing to do” with the alleged collection of bribes from Qatar and that she is “innocent,” although she has not clarified the origin of the money found in her home.
Since last Friday, the police have carried out a score of searches in offices in the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels of several MEPs and parliamentary assistants.
Although Kaili has been expelled from her party (PASOK) and dismissed as MEP vice-president, she does not lose her parliamentary seat.
Russia and Iran’s Defense Partnership
The relationship between Russia and Iran is becoming “a full-scale defense partnership,” warned U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Friday.
“Support is flowing both ways” as Moscow offers the Islamic Republic “an unprecedented level of military and technical support” in exchange for drones and possibly ballistic missiles to deploy in Ukraine, Kirby said.
“Russia is seeking to collaborate with Iran on areas like weapons development and training,” he said. “We are concerned that Russia intends to provide Iran with advanced military components.
“Let’s be clear. From this partnership a threat has been developing not only against Ukraine but also against Iran’s neighbors,” Kirby said, adding that American allies in the Middle East region and elsewhere have been notified.
When Ukrainian cities came under bombardment by Russia in October, Iranian UAVs were used in the attacks.
“Since August, Iran has transferred
