Iranian state media reported on March 11 that Tehran has reached a deal to buy advanced SU-35 fighter planes from Russia, citing Iran’s UN mission in New York.
“Iran has asked a number of countries to explore the possibility of selling fighter jets to Iran, and Russia has given a positive response to this request,” the report by Iranian broadcaster IRIB quoted the mission as saying. The Iranian report did not include comments from the Russian side and did not provide details.
According to a report, Iran has reached a deal to buy advanced Su-35 fighter planes from Russia, Iranian state media said on Saturday, expanding a relationship that has seen Iranian-built drones used in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“The Sukhoi-35 fighter planes are technically acceptable to Iran, and Iran has finalized a contract for their purchase,” the broadcaster IRIB quoted Iran’s mission to the United Nations as saying in New York.
The report did not carry any Russian confirmation of the deal, details of which were not disclosed. The mission said Iran had also inquired about buying military aircraft from several other, unnamed countries, IRIB reported.
READ ALSO: Iran-S Arabia restoration of ties blow to US in Middle East region – Maleeha Lodhi
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran last July, stressing closer ties in the face of Western pressure over the war in Ukraine.
Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but says they were sent before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Moscow denies that its forces use Iranian-built drones in Ukraine, although many have been shot down and recovered there.
Iran’s air force has abundant strike aircrafts acquired after the Iranian revolution of 1979.
In 2018, Iran said it had started production of the locally designed Kowsar fighter for use in its air force.
