Iran had already purchased the fighter jets in November, according to the website of the daily newspaper Etemad and the first delivery is now to be handed over.
Last March, it was reported that Iran had reached a deal to buy the planes from Russia. The air force of sanctions-hit Iran has an aging fleet of aircraft and has struggled to acquire spare parts to keep its warplanes in the air.
The deal was another in the deepening of defense cooperation between Iran and Russia, which has mainly been seen during the war in Ukraine.
In July of 2022, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US had intelligence indicating that Russia is looking to Iran for UAVs.
A month later, it was reported that Iran had begun training Russians to use its drones, though it was also noted that Russia is experiencing “numerous failures” and technical glitches with the drones it purchased from Iran.
Iranian-made drones were also reportedly used in an attack in the Ukrainian town of Bila Tserkva, southwest of the capital Kyiv.
