TEHRAN —
Iran's Defense Minister says his country will sign a contract with Russia for the purchase of Sukhoi-30 fighter jets.
In comments published Wednesday, Gen. Hossein Dehghan did not specify how many fighter planes Iran will buy, or give a timeline for the signing of the deal.
He says that under the agreement Iran would also be involved in the production of the aircraft.
Russia has already started delivering S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran. The advanced defensive weapons system deal was frozen in 2010 due to U.N sanctions.
Iran's air force still heavily depends on domestically modified versions of long-outdated warplanes, including former Soviet MiGs and American F14A Tomcats from the 1970s.
