Iran to Buy Arms from Russia for Regional Security: FM Aide
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Senior Assistant to Iranian Foreign Minister in Special Political Affairs Ali-Asghar Khaji said the country counts on being able to procure arms from Russia to ensure security in the region.
"We have military cooperation with Russia. And when restrictions were lifted, Russia became one of the countries where we can buy weapons, and we can cooperate with it to protect our territory and the security of the region," Khaji told Sputnik.
The diplomat noted while Iran had not been able to procure weapons due to the UN arms embargo, its neighbors bought them for billions of dollars, turning the region into an arms warehouse.
Earlier this week, Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan said Moscow received requests for Russian defense items from Iran after the UN embargo on arms trade expired on in October.
The arms embargo on Iran expired in line with the 2015 nuclear deal that envisaged its lifting five years after the deal's adoption. This gave Tehran the right to both purchase and sell weapons.
