To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks by US Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel to reporters at a briefing on 27 March regarding the expansion of military cooperation between Russia and Iran, including Russia’s use of Iranian-manufactured drones in Ukraine, and in particular, reports that Russia is helping Iran to achieve advanced digital surveillance capabilities.

The UK is clear that Russia and Iran's relationship does not just affect Ukraine. On 9 December in a statement the Foreign Secretary highlighted Russia's offer of military and technical support to the Iranian regime and the risk this poses to international security and our partners in the Middle East.

Alongside our allies the Government has introduced severe sanctions against Russia's defence industry, including prohibiting exports of defence equipment to Russia. Iran's supply of drones to Russia violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 and we will continue to work with the international community to hold Russia and Iran to account and deter others from supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine.