USA: Sale of Russian Fighters to Iran Violates UN Sanctions

The Obama administration announced that Russia's decision to sell fighter jets to Iran would constitute a violation of the United Nations arms sanctions against Iran. The Associated Press reported on Thursday, February 18, the statements of Mark Toner, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, emphasizing that the sale of Sukhoi 30 fighter jets to Iran must be approved by the UN Security Council. According to him, the United States will discuss this issue with Russia, but the six countries involved in nuclear negotiations with Iran 'must be fully aware of these prohibitions.' Recently, Iran's Minister of Defense announced negotiations with Russia for the purchase of Sukhoi 30 fighter jets. According to Hossein Dehghan, negotiations are currently moving towards finalizing a contract, and Iran wishes to participate in the production of these jets as well. However, the U.S. State Department spokesperson insists that since the UN recognizes the Sukhoi as a military aircraft, its sale to Iran requires prior approval from the Security Council. With the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, sanctions related to Tehran's nuclear program have been lifted, but arms and missile sanctions will remain in place for another five and eight years, respectively. Nevertheless, Iranian military officials claim that the nuclear agreement does not affect the Islamic Republic's military plans, and Tehran does not comply with UN resolutions regarding these programs. It is unclear how many Sukhoi 30 fighter jets the Islamic Republic will purchase from Russia and when the transfer of these aircraft to Tehran will be possible. Recently, the Iranian Minister of Defense made a trip to Moscow, which was said to include discussions about purchasing Sukhoi 30s from Russia.