Iran’s air force has received several Russian training aircraft to “improve its training and combat capability,” local media reported on Saturday.
The agency, citing the army’s public relations department, said the plane’s arrival was part of “the Islamic Republic’s arms contracts with the Russian Federation.”
Russia and Iran are subject to international sanctions that restrict trade. Over the past year, they have forged close ties in various areas, including military cooperation. In March, Iran announced that it had reached an agreement to buy Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia.
Modernizing Iranian hunting
Ukraine and many of its Western allies accuse Tehran of supplying Moscow with weapons for its war against kyiv, which Tehran denies. In May, the United States claimed that Iran and Russia were “expanding their defense partnership.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Iran had delivered more than 400 drones to Russia since August last year. He added that Tehran was looking for Russian attack helicopters, radars and Yak-130 jets.
Currently, the Iranian Air Force is equipped with Soviet-era Russian MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets, as well as some Chinese jets and some American F-4 and F-5 fighters from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Source: BFM TV
