Iran’s mission to the United Nations said on Saturday, 11 March that the country has reached a deal to buy advanced Su-35 fighter jets from Russia.

As Iranian broadcaster IRIB reported that Iran’s mission to the UN said that the Su-35 fighter planes were "technically acceptable" to Iran and Iran has finalised a contract for their purchase after the expiration of restrictions on Iran’s ability to purchase conventional weapons (under the UN Resolution 2231) in October 2020.

The Iranian broadcaster also stated that the Russian fighter jet was "one of the most powerful fourth-generation fighter jets in the world".

The details of the agreement – including its total value and the number of fighter jets Russia will supply to Iran – were not publicly disclosed. IRIB did say, however, that Iran was in talks to purchase fighter jets from several other, unnamed, countries.

Earlier, Israeli media reported, citing their sources, that Russia might supply 24 jets to Iran.

Moscow and Tehran have strengthened their defence industry partnership in the last few months, as Russia continues to wage a full-scale war against Ukraine. CNN reported that Russia has been capturing some of the US and NATO-provided weapons and equipment left on the battlefield in Ukraine and sending them to Iran, where the US believes Tehran will try to reverse-engineer the systems.

Iran obtaining Russian Su-35 jets might significantly destabilise the regional power balance, with far-reaching consequences for the entire region.