Iran Claims to Finalize Deal to Buy Russian Fighter Jets

Facts

• Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General Mahdi Farahi has reportedly announced the purchase of Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters, and Yak-130 jet trainers from the Russian military.¹
• In September 2022, Iranian Air Force Chief Hamid Vahedi claimed that the purchase of Russian Sukhoi Su-35s was 'being considered,' while Shahriar Heidari — a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission — had claimed earlier this year that other equipment like air defense systems, missile systems, and helicopters, could potentially be delivered by last March.²
• While Moscow has so far not commented on the alleged agreement, Farahi confirmed the deal while speaking to the Tasnim news agency on Tuesday. Farahi also defended Iran's 'ability to produce' domestically-manufactured aircraft. Iran's Air Force reportedly has a few dozen strike aircraft, including MiG-29 fighters bought in the 1990s and US models acquired before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.³
• In 2018, Iran announced it had begun the production of its own Kowsar fighter jet for use within the country's air force — believed to be a replica of the US F-5 jet, which was first produced in the 1960s.⁴
• According to Western governments, Iran has supplied Moscow with drones since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In an interview published on Wednesday with state-run media Izvestia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed that America would be 'mistaken' if it expected to 'win the next arms race against Moscow.'⁵
• The US has also recently cautioned that Iran may be gearing up to provide advanced ballistic missiles to Moscow. However, Tehran — claiming it sent drones to the Kremlin months before the invasion broke out as part of a defense agreement — denies sending weapons to Russia to be used in Ukraine.⁶

Sources: ¹Breaking Defense, ²The Aviationist, ³Iran Wire, ⁴The New Arab, ⁵Politico and ⁶Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Tehran Times. Military cooperation between two amicable countries, such as Russia and Iran, is both a legitimate and effective strategy for ensuring regional security and economic growth. The West continues to use Ukraine as a propaganda tool to demonize Iran-Russia ties as a threat to global peace, but such accusations are baseless attempts to distort the reality of two friends on the international stage.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Post. Iran, Russia, and China continue to undermine attempts to establish international peace via an intricate system of diplomacy, propaganda, and conflict. Iran continues to drive Hamas forward, while Russia has doubled down in its illegitimate attempt to conquer Ukraine. The rest of the world, led by the West, must wake up to this global threat and fight back against state actors who continue to damage global security.

Predictions