Trudeau ‘extremely concerned’ about report Canadian parts ended up in Iranian drones – National | 24CA News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is “extremely concerned” over a report Canadian-made components have been found in Iranian drones utilized by Russia in its conflict on Ukraine.
Trudeau shared his worries with reporters in Ingersoll, Ont., Monday after the Globe and Mail reported on Sunday the invention by a non-profit group, Statewatch. Its “Trap Aggressor” investigation detailed final month that an antenna manufactured by an Ottawa-based Tallysman Wireless was featured within the Iranian Shahed-136 assault drone.
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The drones have been used not too long ago by Russia in Ukraine as Moscow will increase its strikes on the nation’s vitality and civilian infrastructure.
“We’re obviously extremely concerned about those reports because even as Canada is producing extraordinary, technological innovations … we do not want them to participate in Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, or Iran’s contributions to that,” Trudeau stated.
“We have strict export permits in place for sensitive technology that are rigorously enforced, and that’s why we’ve been following up with this company, that’s fully cooperating, to figure out exactly how items that we’re not supposed to get into the hands of anyone like the Iranian government actually ended up there.”
The Shahed-136 is manufactured by Shahed Aviation Industries, one among two Iranian drone makers Ottawa sanctioned final month for reportedly supplying Russia with its deadly drones. After denying experiences it was supplying Moscow, Iran acknowledged for the primary time on Nov. 5 it had despatched Moscow drones earlier than the Feb. 24 conflict started.
It denied persevering with to produce drones to Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Iran of mendacity, beforehand saying Kyiv’s forces had been destroying no less than 10 of its drones daily.
Aside from its Iranian-made engine, the Shahed-136 consists completely of international parts, Statewatch stated in its report. It cited Ukrainian intelligence managing to establish greater than 30 European and American firms’ parts, with most components coming from the United States.
A drone is seen within the sky seconds earlier than it fired on buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 17.
Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Drones just like the Shahed are filled with explosives and may be preprogrammed with a goal’s GPS coordinates. They can nosedive into targets and explode on impression like a missile, therefore why they’ve grow to be often called suicide drones or kamikaze drones.
Shaheds are comparatively low-cost, costing roughly US$20,000 every — a small fraction of the price of a full-size missile.
Drones “provide a critical capability” to use vulnerabilities in defences, and their use could also be a prelude to a brand new section within the battle, U.S. Army Lt.-Col. Paul Lushenko beforehand informed Global News.
Gyles Panther, president at Tallysman, informed the Globe the corporate isn’t “complicit in this usage” and “is 100-per cent committed” to supporting Ukraine.
Ottawa is working to grasp how the components ended up within the drones, and desires to “ensure” incidents like this don’t “happen again in the future,” Trudeau stated.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
