The Biden administration is trying to stop Iran from supplying drones to Russia.

Iranian drones d 'Image are still built largely with American and Western parts. protested Iran's support for Russia in Maidan Square in October. Iran's ability to produce and deliver drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, a move that echoes its years-long agenda to cut off Tehran's access to nuclear technology. /p>

In interviews across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, a range of intelligence, military, and national security officials described a program US expansion that aims to stifle o ff Iran's ability to manufacture the drones, makes it harder for the Russians to launch the unmanned 'kamikaze' plane and - if all else fails - provide the Ukrainians with the defenses needed to shoot them down from the sky.

p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">United States Ukrainian Armed Forces are helping the Ukrainian military target sites where the drones are being prepared for launch - a difficult task because Russians move launch sites, soccer fields a ux car parks. And they're rushing in new technologies designed to give early warning of approaching drone swarms, to improve Ukraine's chances of bringing them down, with everything from gunfire to missiles.

But all three approaches have faced profound challenges, and the drive to cut drone-critical parts is already proving as difficult as the decades-old campaign to deprive Iran of the components needed to build the delicate centrifuges it uses to enrich near-bomb-grade uranium.

The administration's scramble to cope to Iran-supplied drones comes as Ukraine uses its own drones to strike deep into Russia, including an attack this week on a base housing some of the country's strategic bombers. And it comes as officials in Washington and London warn that Iran may be on the verge of supplying Russia with missiles, helping to ease the acute shortage in Moscow.