Iran has purchased Russian Sukhoi (Su)-35 fighters, a representative of the Revolutionary Guards' senior command announced, Reuters reported, quoted by bTA.
The news comes amid Western concern over the growing military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. This is the first time an official representative of the Islamic Republic has acknowledged the purchase of such aircraft, Reuters notes.
Ali Shamdani, however, did not specify in his statement to the "Student Information Network" portal (SNN) the number of aircraft and whether they are already in Iranian territory.
"When necessary, we purchase combat equipment to strengthen our air, land and naval forces. "We have also accelerated the pace of military production (from our defense industry)," said Shamdani, who is deputy coordinator at the Revolutionary Guards' Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters.
In November, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran had finalized arrangements to purchase Russian fighter jets.
Earlier this month, Iran and Russia signed an agreement on comprehensive strategic cooperation, which did not mention the provision of military equipment, but the document explicitly stated that the two countries would "develop military-technical cooperation."
The Iranian Air Force has only a few dozen attack aircraft, including Russian-made machines but also old American models from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Revolutionary Guards also reported that during the Iranian military exercises that began last week, exercises in the Persian Gulf The Islamic Republic has tested missiles with artificial intelligence, Agence France-Presse reported.
According to the head of the Revolutionary Guard Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, these are missiles "Gaem" and "Almas", which were launched from unmanned aerial vehicles "Mohajer-6" and "Ababil-5". During the maneuvers, actions are being practiced to protect coastal enterprises from the oil production and refining industry and the "Bushhehr" nuclear power plant.