Iran’s military chief has announced that a joint Russian-Iranian meeting on military-technical cooperation will take place in Tehran in three months, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Mohammad Bagheri of the Iranian General Staff pushed for stronger military ties between the two nations as he met his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimovis in Moscow this week.
Russian Weapon Systems for Iran
Before meeting Gerasimovis, Iran’s official news agency IRNA cited the Iranian military chief as saying that he would pursue a contract with Moscow which includes the purchase of Russian fighter aircraft, training aircraft, and combat helicopters.
The development comes after the expiration of the UN arms embargo on the Islamic Republic in October 2020.
Apart from the prospective arms purchase, Bagheri told a group of Iranian “experts” at the Iranian embassy in Moscow that “regional and international developments, as well as the fight against terrorism” will be on the agenda during his visit.
Russian Help for Iranian Defense
Speaking at an interview with TV channel Russia-24, the Iranian military chief confessed that his country requires help from Russia in producing certain weapon systems.
“Due to the fact that for more than 40 years our country has been living under sanctions, we have been producing the lion’s share of weapons ourselves,” Bagheri was quoted by Interfax as saying.
“But there are some aspects that we could not translate into a practical production plan, or that economic considerations did not allow to be implemented. we turn to our Russian colleagues and conclude military contracts.”
Regional ‘Situation’
The Iranian general pointed to the regional “situation” as one of the reasons for signing a cooperation agreement with Moscow.
“In particular, after the lifting of UN sanctions, the purchase of weapons is actively developing. In addition, the situation in the region is pushing us towards such cooperation,” he said.
IRNA cited Bagheri as referring to a 25-year China-Iran comprehensive cooperation deal when describing the kind of cooperation the country hopes to have with Russia.