Asked about Iran’s role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, CIA Director Bill Burns assessed that “what’s beginning to emerge is at least the beginnings of a full-fledged defence partnership between Russia and Iran, with the Iranians supplying drones to the Russians, which are killing Ukrainian civilians as we speak today, and the Russians beginning to look at ways in which, technologically or technically, they can support the Iranians, which poses real threats to Iran’s own neighbourhood, to many of our friends and partners in Iran’s neighbourhood as well”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson subsequently described the claims as a “propaganda war…based on lies and deception”.