White House says Iran helping Russia 'on the ground' in Crimea

The White House has accused Iran of being "directly engaged on the ground" in Russian-occupied Crimea, helping to train the country's forces on Iranian-made drones that have been used in attacks in Ukraine. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that a "relatively small number" of Iranian personnel are operating in the Ukrainian region that was annexed by Russia in 2014. "Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground and through the provision of weapons that are impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine," Kirby said. "The United States is going to pursue all means to expose, deter and confront Iran's provision of these munitions against the Ukrainian people." Tehran has denied supplying Moscow with drones or helping launch them.