U.S., U.K., and Australian academics worked on drone technology-related research with an Iranian university, The Guardian reported Wednesday.

However, there is no evidence the research violated any sanctions or broke any laws, even though the Iranian university is under international financial sanctions and known for its close connection to the military.

One security expert described the research as having direct military applications, while another called it potentially "very dangerous."

The study was co-authored by researchers from the University of Southampton, the University of New South Wales in Sydney, the University of Houston and Sharif University of Technology in Tehran.

Sharif University is subject to financial sanctions imposed by the E.U. and U.K., and a senior official who works at the institution is sanctioned by the U.S. A report from the U.S.-based Washington Institute said the speed with which Iran developed its UAV program was in part due to research from Sharif.

The report adds that the range and accuracy of the drones Iran makes was achieved by equipping them with "gyro-navigation devices developed by Sharif University."

Among the funding agencies listed on the published study are government-backed research councils in the U.K., E.U., and Australia.

Iranian-made drones have been responsible for numerous deadly attacks in the Ukraine and Middle East, and their development is known to be a top priority for the Tehran regime.

The research, which studied the use of drones in wireless networks and as communications hubs, was published last year by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a global platform which hosts peer-reviewed studies.

"There are direct implications of the technology presented in this paper for military use," Conor Healy, the director of government research at IPVM, a U.S. publication focused on security technology, told The Guardian.

They include the ability to establish "new communication channels when an adversary deploys jamming, which is directly relevant to drone warfare in Ukraine," Healy said.

Robert Czulda, a professor in international and political studies at the University of Łódź in Poland, said the research was potentially "very dangerous," stressing that "any system relating to communications or repeating signals could easily have military application."

In recent years governments worldwide have started initiatives to block or hinder international academic collaboration that might help to further Tehran's program, including  the U..K government last June starting a probe into allegations that a number of U.K. universities had collaborated with their Iranian counterparts on UAV research.

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