Ambassador Olexander Scherba declined to sign a condolence book at the Iranian embassy 'due to the Shahed drones supplied to Russia'.

Ukraine's ambassador to South Africa has declined an invitation from his Iranian counterpart to express condolences for the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - because he says drones supplied by Iran to Russia are killing thousands of Ukrainians.

Ambassador Olexander Scherba posted on X that "weirdly" the Iranian embassy had informed Ukrainian diplomats that it was opening a book of condolences (to be signed) in memory of Khamenei and the military leadership of Iran, who had been killed in the US and Israeli attacks that started on Saturday.

He said he had decided to respond publicly to Iranian Ambassador, Mansour Shakib Mehr.

"I feel compelled to remind you of the following," Scherba wrote. "As military allies of the Russian Federation, the deceased leaders of Iran had on their hands the blood of thousands of Ukrainian citizens - men and women, children and elderly - killed with the help of the infamous Iran-made 'Shahed' drones and other military know-how so eagerly provided to Russia by your government.

"Your leaders were complicit in bringing endless grief to Ukrainian civilians. Being a person of faith, I try not to rejoice in the death of other people, even those who chose to be...