Putin's Assistant: Iran Has a Strong Interest in Purchasing Various Russian Weapons

Vladimir Kozhin, assistant to the President of Russia for military and technical cooperation, announced the 'great interest' of the Islamic Republic of Iran in purchasing 'various types of weapons' made in Russia, in addition to the S-300 system. According to the Itar-Tass news agency, Kozhin stated on Wednesday, December 4, that the reason for Iran's 'great interest in buying a wide range of Russian-made weapons' is that Iran 'has large armed forces but has not upgraded its air, naval, and ground forces for a long time due to sanctions.' These remarks came shortly after the visit of Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, to Tehran and his meeting with senior officials of the Islamic Republic. Moscow and Tehran signed seven official cooperation documents at the end of this visit, among which there was no document regarding military cooperation. Nevertheless, Russia is ready to increase its trade exchanges with Iran immediately after the lifting of international sanctions. Kozhin's comments about the Iranian interest in purchasing various weapons from Russia come at a time when, according to UN Security Council Resolution 2231, 'the supply, sale, or transfer of any weapons and equipment to Iran or for use within Iran or in favor of Iran' is only 'subject to case-by-case approval' by the Security Council for 'five years after the acceptance date' of the nuclear agreement or JCPOA. The mentioned weapons and equipment in this resolution include any battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, heavy artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles, or missile systems and related equipment including spare parts.