Tired of US Delays, Iraq Goes for Used Fighter Jets
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraq sick of long delays in the delivery of F-16 planes from the US, bought used fighter jets from Russia and Belarus to battle ISIL militants.
“God willing within one week this force will be effective and will destroy the terrorists’ dens,” Iraq’s Premier Nouri Al Maliki had said on Thursday, angry with Americans for delaying the delivery of 36 aircraft including F-16 fighters and Apache helicopters.
Meanwhile Washington Post has reported that Iraqi officials have started negotiating the return of decades-old planes from Iran.
During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, dozens of Iraqi aircraft including Sukhois and MiGs were flown to Iran after the Iraqi pilots fled.
The American outlet quotes a member of the Iraqi parliament’s defense and security committee Ammar Toma that “Iran has been receptive to the demands and is working on renovating an unspecified number of jets.”
Maliki’s administration who is in dire need of a strong air force to combat and eliminate the terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), had earlier regretted to have bought only the US jets. The premier had said his country should have also bought British, French and Russian jets to provide air support.
Following the security crisis in Iraq, the neighboring Iran has times and again reiterated that it would not interfere in Iraq, but has pledged all kinds of support -in case Baghdad asks for- to help eradication of the terrorist group in the region.
