Shadmani’s pronouncement is the first official confirmation of Tehran’s purchase of the Russian fighters that has long been suspected to be in the works. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the issue.

Russia and Iran signed a mutual defense and security cooperation pact on Jan. 17 — just days before President Trump’s inauguration. Both nations are primary opponents of the U.S., demonstrated by Russia’s war against Ukraine and Iran’s attempts to assassinate Trump,

NICOLE GRAJEWSKI is a Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an Associate with the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is the author of Russia and Iran: Partners in Defiance From Syria to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting his Iranian counterpart President Masoud Pezeshkian for the signing of a broad partnership pact

Iran confirms purchasing Russian Su-35 fighter jets amid deepening military ties with Moscow under a new 20-year strategic partnership treaty

Turning to Tehran bore fruit for Russia. Thanks to a deal inked following that visit, Russia is now churning out thousands of Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, at a factory in Tatarstan.

While Moscow and Tehran have shared warmer relations for decades, a revival of the nations’ allyship occurred when the former invaded Kyiv.

Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact Friday as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions.

Russia and Iran sign a 20-year strategic partnership agreement to bolster military, political, and economic cooperation amid Western sanctions and escalating tensions.

Iran has long sought an alliance to protect it in the face of potential conflict with adversaries, but the text of the agreement falls short of obligating either party to provide military support in the event of foreign aggression.

Russia and Iran are poised to sign a new treaty on Friday to cement their military and economic ties, a pact between two of the world's most heavily sanctioned nations that is likely to alarm the West.