With Arms Embargo Lifted, Iran Races to Update its Arsenal

By Neta Bar

With an international arms embargo lifted, Iran plans on buying advanced military systems, including armed drones, air-defense systems, fighter jets and tanks, Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Amir Hatami told local media on Wednesday.

The Islamic Republic has previously shown interest in Russia’s Su-30 and Yak-130 jets, T-90 tank and S-400 air-defense system. It has also expressed interest  in several Chinese defense systems, including the J-10 and J-20 fighter jet, but was prevented from purchasing such items under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Hatami noted that Iran entered negotiations “with several countries” even before the arms embargo was lifted earlier this year, adding that the talks were now in their “advanced stages.”

Tehran is also in talks to sell several domestically produced weapons systems, including anti-tank missile systems, he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that his country had yet to “fully retaliate” over the Jan. 3 killing of Quds Force Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.

This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.