Iran has criticized a call by France, Germany, and Britain for the United Nations to investigate accusations that Russia has used Iranian-made drones to attack Ukraine.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on October 22 the initiative announced the previous day by the so-called E-3 group of countries was "false and baseless" and that it was "strongly rejected and condemned."
Ukraine says Russia has struck its infrastructure with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones that cruise toward their target and explode on impact.
Both Iran and Russia have denied the accusations.
"The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in its pursuit to protect its national interest and to secure the rights of the noble Iranian people, reserves the right to respond to any irresponsible action," the Iranian foreign ministry website quoted Kanaani as saying.
"It will not hesitate to defend the interests of the Iranian people," he said, without elaborating.
In a letter signed by their UN envoys and seen by Reuters, the three European countries backed Ukraine's call on October 17 for a UN probe, arguing that the drone use breached a UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2231 endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.