The Iranian regime has once again claimed that the contract for the purchase of Sukhoi-35 fighter jets from Russia has been finalized. Mehdi Farahi, the deputy defense minister of the Iranian regime, reiterated the definitive nature of the contract for the purchase of several types of military equipment from Russia, including these fighter jets.
On November 28, Mehdi Farahi told the state-run Tasnim News Agency, linked to the IRGC, that “the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter, Sukhoi-35 fighter jet, and Yakovlev Yak-130 training aircraft” are expected to be delivered to Iran soon.
However, he did not provide further details in this regard and did not specify the exact date of the possible entry of these Russian-made weapons into Iran.
Russian authorities have not provided any details on this matter, and no other independent source has confirmed the claim made by the senior official of the Iranian Ministry of Defense.
The Iranian regime has been pursuing the purchase of Russian Sukhoi-35 fighter jets for a long time and considers them a serious competitor to American F-35 fighters.
The fighter jets of the Iranian Armed Forces are relatively outdated, and most of them are the same American fighters that were purchased under the Shah regime before the 1979 revolution.
In 2018, the Iranian regime announced the beginning of the production of the domestically designed Kowsar fighter jet for use in its air force.
Military experts believe that it is a copy of the F-5 jet was first produced in the 1960s in the United States.
In January 2023, Israeli media, citing Western intelligence officials, reported that Russia was preparing to supply Sukhoi-35 fighter aircraft to Iran “in the near future.”
However, during this period, Iranian officials have made contradictory statements about the process of purchasing these types of fighter jets.
Earlier on June 2, Hamid Vahedi, the commander of the Iranian Air Force, told Iranian media, “We need the Sukhoi-35, but we don’t know when it will join our squadrons.”
A month later, Mohammad Reza Aghastiani, the regime’s Defense Minister indirectly confirmed the disruption of the contract for the purchase of these fighter jets by the government.
Mohammad Reza Aghastiani, in response to a question about the purchase of Sukhoi-35, said, “We make plans for purchases, but we come to the conclusion that we have the capability to produce them domestically.”
This statement has led to speculation about disruptions in military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, including the possibility that Israel has succeeded in persuading Russia not to deliver these advanced fighter jets to the Iranian regime.
A few months ago, the US-based website Axios reported that Israeli officials had discussed with their Russian counterparts the growing military cooperation between Russia and the Iranian regime and the possibility of Russia supplying advanced weapons systems to Iran.
The Tasnim News Agency wrote that the purchase of military helicopters from Russia is taking place at a time when in January 2023, Igor Levitin, Vladimir Putin’s special assistant, reached an agreement with Mohammad Mokhber, First Deputy to Ebrahim Raisi (the regime’s president), regarding “joint helicopter production” between Tehran and Moscow.
In recent years, the Iranian regime and Russia have been strengthening their military cooperation, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s need for more weapons, especially combat drones, have expanded these collaborations.
Western countries have repeatedly condemned Tehran’s role in the war in Ukraine due to the regime’s sale of drones to Russia, resulting in sanctions against Russia and the Iranian regime.
