THE MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs has summoned the Iranian ambassador over recent events in Ukraine and Iran.
Iranian Ambassador Masoud Eslami has been called in by Minister Simon Coveney, the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting heard this evening.
Russia fired waves of drones over Ukraine this week that are believed to have been Iranian-made.
Additionally, women’s rights in Iran have come to tinternational attention following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police and died in their custody.
Coveney, who chaired tonight’s meeting of the parliamentary party, said he recently spoke to the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian regarding drones sourced by Russia.
Coveney told the meeting there is strong evidence that the drones used against Kyiv this week were from Iran.
The Shahed drones, which Russia has rebranded as Geran-2, are packed with explosives and preprogrammed to wait overhead until they nosedive into a target.
Russia used the drones to attack the Ukrainian capital this week, with the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, saying 28 drones made up the successive attack waves.
Coveney also said that the current treatment of Iranian women is “unacceptable”.
Protests have been ongoing in the country since Mahsa Amini’s death over a month ago, with security forces using violence against some demonstrators.
The Fine Gael meeting also discussed the construction of a new garda station on O’Connell Street following an RTÉ Prime Time programme yesterday that detailed anti-social behaviour problems on the street.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that construction work is ongoing on a fully-operating garda station.
Additional reporting by Christina Finn
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