Iranian Defense Minister announces that his country is taking advantage of the end of the arms embargo on it in order to equip itself with modern military systems • Iran is interested in anti-aircraft missiles and fighter jets
Iranian Defense Minister Amir Khatami // Photo: AFP
Iranian Defense Minister General Amir Khatami said today (Wednesday) that his country intends to purchase state-of-the-art military equipment from several foreign countries.
Khatami said Iran was in talks with "several countries" regarding the purchase of military systems and that negotiations began even before the removal of the international arms embargo on Tehran, earlier this year.
The defense minister added that his country is in the advanced stages of negotiating the export of Iranian-made weapons to foreign countries, including the Hurdad anti-aircraft missile system, which Tehran claims has managed to drop an American UAV over the waters of the Persian Gulf.
Foreign media have previously revealed that Iran is interested in state-of-the-art weapons systems made in China, including the J-10, a multi-purpose fighter jet designed to replace the fleet of obsolete Iranian Air Force fighter jets.
Foreign experts estimate that Iran will show interest in purchasing the elusive fighter J-20, in order to address the American f-35s that have been sold to Israel and are also expected to be sold to the United Arab Emirates.
Iran has also expressed interest in Russian-made anti-aircraft systems, including the S-400 system, which is considered the most advanced of its kind in the world and its acquisition could raise Tehran to another level in its ability to defend its nuclear facilities from foreign attack.
Earlier in the day, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered an implicit message to the United States and said during a broadcast speech "Revenge on the assassination of Qassem Suleimani is not over yet."
Khamenei called during the speech not to be tempted to trust Iran's enemies, thus referring to the nuclear deal signed with the United States in 2015.