Russia will supply Iran with fighter jets, the report says

Russia will supply Iran with fighter jets amid ‘recent tensions’, according to reports in Iranian and Arab media. Qatari owner Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed said Sukhoi Su-35 was about to arrive at Shahid Shiroudi air base in Isfahan, which was attacked on Friday in an attack blamed on Israel.

Russia decided on this step after avoiding responding to a two-year-old Iranian request. Twelve Su-35 jets would be delivered to Tehran, according to media reports, with the first batch arriving this week. However, this has been neither confirmed nor denied by the Russian Ministry of Defense or Iranian officials.

In related news, the New York Times received confirmation from both Iranian and Western sources that the attack on the Isfahan base damaged an S-300 air defense system. This Russian-made system plays a crucial role in identifying and neutralizing aerial threats near the Natanz nuclear power plant. Satellite images released yesterday, analyzed by Ron Ben Yishai, confirm these findings and show significant damage to an advanced radar component of the system at Iran’s “Shahid Shiroudi 8” air base.

Since 2022, US concerns have been growing about the deepening of security ties between Russia and Iran, especially in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. CIA Director William Burns has expressed concern about the impact of this alliance on US allies in the Middle East, especially Israel. Speaking on PBS, Burns noted that this partnership includes Tehran’s supply of kamikaze drones to the Russian military, with Moscow exploring ways to return the favor and strengthen the Iranian regime.

The US has raised alarm over increasingly close ties between Iran and Russia, noting that this relationship has facilitated a significant flow of military expertise and weapons to Tehran. There are growing fears that Russia could provide Iran with advanced military hardware, such as helicopters and air defense systems. In addition, Iranian pilots have been trained in Russia to fly the advanced Su-35 fighter jets. Given the aging nature of Iran’s current fighter jet fleet due to Western sanctions, these modern Russian fighter jets could significantly improve Iran’s air capabilities.

This morning, Farhad Parchizadeh, a journalist for the opposition channel Iran International, shared images on the social network X (formerly known as Twitter) of the Shahid Shiroudi air base near Isfahan. This base was reportedly the target of an Israeli attack. According to Parchizadeh, the before-and-after images clearly show the destruction of air defense systems. A senior US official revealed to ABC just two days ago that the attack was carried out by fighter jets, likely targeting an air defense radar integral to the defense of the Natanz nuclear site.

Shahid Shiroudi Air Base, close to the city’s international airport, includes potential targets such as bunkers, aircraft hangars and air defense systems, which include both launchers and radars. This information comes from a report by the Alma Research Center. In addition, the Isfahan region is home to other military installations, including an underground ballistic missile base in the northwest of the city.

The London-based Arabic newspaper “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” describes the proposed airbase as a crucial facility within the Iranian air force, housing the most advanced fighter jets. The publication points to a website linked to the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence services, which labels the base, known as Shahid Baba’i, as “the heart of the Iranian air force”, containing 17 air bases. In addition, the article quotes a US website noting that the base hosts three fighter squadrons and two training squadrons of the Iranian Air Force, equipped with F-7, F-14 and Su-24 aircraft.

The base is located northeast of Isfahan, about 20 kilometers from the nuclear research core and industrial zones linked to the Ministry of Defense, and the “Badr” drone base in the southeast of Isfahan. It is also 120 km from the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, 280 km from the Arak heavy water plant and about 240 km from the Fordo plant, located under the mountains near Qom.

The New York Times reported that the recent attack, attributed to Israel and carried out Thursday evening, involved at least one missile launched from a fighter jet far beyond the borders of Iran or Israel, which was undetectable by the regime’s air defense systems of the Ayatollah. . The operation also included the use of drones launched from Iran.