Expert: Iran would need UN approval to purchase Russian Su-30 aircraft
In order to secure a supply of Russian combat aircraft, including the Su-30 fighters, Iran needs the UN Security Council’s decision to lift sanctions on certain arms contracts. This was communicated to RIA Novosti on November 26 by the former head of the international treaty directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Yevgeny Buzhinsky.
Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Dehghan said in an interview with the Tasnim news agency two days earlier that Iran was considering the purchase of Russian multi-purpose Su-30 fighters. He noted that this issue was raised during the talks with Russia and that Moscow "approved it.”
"Of course, Iran may want to buy our fighters, but sanctions of the UN Security Council, which Russia supported as well, are imposed on the supply of any offensive weapons to Tehran. Moscow takes the wishes of its partners into consideration,” Buzhinsky said.
The interviewee noted that some weapons contracts can theoretically be taken beyond the bounds of the sanctions regime, but this requires the consent of all UN Security Council members, including the United States, and such a scenario is highly unlikely.
Earlier, Director of the Second Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov told RIA Novosti that Moscow was ready to develop military-technical cooperation with Tehran. Iran was interested in a broad array of Russian weapons.
At the end of April 2016, Dehghan visited Moscow and met with the head of the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoygu, but the possibility of new contracts for the supply of arms to Iran had not been discussed then.