Its military advancements have been stymied for years by sanctions and being unable to acquire advanced weaponry. Its air force has settled for decades-old Russian and American jets, the majority of which are Cold War leftovers. The latest Russian cold shoulder to deliver Su-35 fighter jets to Iran is a sign of desperation by Tehran to shore up its air defenses and turn the power dynamics in the Middle East. Iran ramped up to sharpen its militancy once UN sanctions expired in 2020, and the Su-35s were the centerpiece of its plans.
Iran and Russia have heightened their military collaboration in recent years. Having its own Western markets increasingly far out of reach due to sanctions and wars, Russia has redirected its gaze towards Iran as an ally and purchased hundreds of Iranian drones for exportation.
Moscow, however, had pledged to supply Tehran with sophisticated platforms such as Su-35 fighters, Mi-28 attack helicopters, and Yak-130 trainers. This newly formed block has been of concern to Washington and regional players, who fear it could become a source of trouble in the region.
The Su-35, 2014, is a third-generation air-superiority fighter with advanced avionics, thrust-vectoring engines, and multirole weapons platforms. For Iran, whose military aviation fleet is dominated by F-4 Phantoms, F-5 Tigers, and MiG-29s, the induction of Su-35s would be a leapfrog. Iranian officials have sold the deterrent capability of the aircraft, claiming that they enhance the nation’s capacity to defend its interests and extend its influence regionally.
But it will not be easy to integrate the Su-35. The pilots and maintenance teams will need to learn how to employ its advanced radar, electronic warfare capabilities, and new missiles. Iran’s existing infrastructure will be a strain to maintain such advanced aircraft, and to integrate them with the existing fleet would require upgrading communications, data links, and command networks, and making operations more complicated to plan.
The response of the region has been immediate. Israel, with the most advanced Middle Eastern air force, considers the sale to be a provocation. Israeli officials, reports said, requested Moscow to stop the sale or cancel it, warning that Tehran and its allies in Syria and Lebanon would be provided with a strategic advantage. The Gulf countries, already on edge over the drone and ballistic missile threats of Iran, are again weighing their own air defense strategies, some of which involve purchasing sophisticated Western systems like the F-35.
For the West, the deal is a reminder that sanctions and arms embargoes are useless. Although UN sanctions have technically lapsed, permitting Iran to buy conventional weapons, the purchase of advanced fighter aircraft sparked fears about regional security and whether or not further action will be needed to contain the proliferation of advanced military technology.
Practically speaking, the short-term effect of the Su-35s is zero. Iran will see a qualitative enhancement in air capability but a minimal quantitative change. Few aircraft are likely to be delivered, and Israel’s inventory, bolstered by some half-dozen F-35s and hundreds of other advanced planes, is technologically vastly superior. The Su-35s will improve the deterrence and defense capabilities of Iran, but will not be expected to swing the balance so far as to directly endanger Israel or American forces in a conventional war.
Politically, the accord is a pragmatic accommodation between Tehran and Moscow. Russia wants to balance out Western power and have a stable ally, and Iran wants to upgrade its military without becoming involved in Russia’s wider geopolitical rivalries. Their alliance is not an alliance but transactional, and provides each nation space to move on its own.
Within the next few years, Iran-Russia defense cooperation will include co-production, more intensified drone and missile collaboration, and integration of sophisticated systems. There are concerns, including delivery schedules, technical assistance, and political risk.
Russian Su-35s in Iran mean more to strategists and analysts than an issue of arms sales—it is an indicator of changing loyalties, re-balancing deterrence priorities, and increasing uncertainty in regional security.
