Iran buys fighter jets from Russia

Iran announced that the procurement procedures for the Russian Sukhoi-35 (Su-35) fighter jets have been completed.

According to the news that the Iranian state television based at the Permanent Mission of Iran to the United Nations (UN), the purchase of Su-35 aircraft from Russia has been finalized. It was reported that after the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, Iran sent a request to some countries to purchase fighter jets, and Russia responded positively to this request.

It was claimed that after the UN arms embargo imposed on Iran from 2007 was lifted in October 2020, attempts were made to acquire Su-35 aircraft from Russia and procurement procedures for the fighter jets were finally completed. The report did not provide information on when the purchase contract was concluded and how many Su-35s will be delivered from Russia to Iran.

According to news in the country’s media, Iran will first buy 24 fighter jets from Russia. In line with the nuclear agreement signed by Tehran in 2015 between the permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and Germany, the international arms embargo was applied for 13 years and the international travel ban on some Iranian officials was lifted. in 2020.

The single-seat, twin-engine Su-35, designed by the Russian company Sukhoi, is used as a fourth-generation multi-role fighter.

The inventory of Iran’s Air Force, which has long been unable to buy warplanes due to embargoes, has old US-made F-4s, F-5s and F-14s, as well as Russian Mig-fighter jets. 29 and Su-24. . (AA)