Tehran, April 21 (IANS/DPA) Iranian officials have denied media reports about the imminent delivery of new Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets to Iran. Reports in the Iranian media that the country is to receive the latest generation of aircraft in the next few days are incorrect, according to the Fararu news website. The media had referred to a report by the SNN news agency, which is close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The agency itself denied the report on its Telegram page after consulting with the Ministry of Defence.
Ireran's Ministry of Defence announced last year that the country had acquired Mi-28H combat helicopters and Yak-130s from Russia in addition to the SU-35 fighter jets. According to Fararu, however, the aircraft were not delivered due to protests from Iran's arch-enemy Israel and some Arab states in the Persian Gulf. According to unofficial reports, the deal was supposed to involve a total of 24 new fighter jets.
Since the failure of the 2015 Vienna nuclear deal, which was intended to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and the subsequent continuation of Western sanctions, Iran has intensified its relations with Moscow. Iran is also said to be supporting Russia with military logistics in the war against Ukraine. In particular, the West accuses Iran of supplying Russia with so-called kamikaze drones, which it says have been used several times in the Ukraine conflict which Tehran denies. Both Iran and Russia have been subject to sanctions due to the accusations.
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