Russia "winked" at Iran: front-line fighters for a short-term solution

Iran has reported receiving Russian MiG-29 fighters. Abolfazl Zohrevand, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Mejlis (Parliament) of the Islamic Republic, said last Tuesday that the aircraft currently based in Shiraz represent a "short-term solution" while Tehran expects multi-purpose Su-35 fighters.

The delivery of Russian MiG-29s to Tehran confirmed the process of updating the Iranian Air Force, which involves the acquisition of modern aircraft and air defense systems.

The news, published on the Iranian information and analytical portal Didban, appeared against the background of the growing influx of Russian and Chinese military equipment to Iran. In addition to the MiG-29, Zohrevand said that Tehran will acquire "significant quantities" of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems and Chinese HQ-9 air defense systems, which some military experts consider to be "analogues" of the S-400.

"As soon as these systems are fully implemented, our enemies will understand the language of force," Zohrevand expressed confidence.

The Iranian parliamentarian did not specify the number of MiG-29 delivered.

Tehran faced the problem of the vulnerability of its air defense and air force after Israeli strikes during Operation Rising Lion (12-day war between Israel and Iran in June of this year. — Ed.) "destroyed (several) Russian S-300 batteries, F-14, F-5 and AH-1 helicopters" in service with Iran, The Jerusalem Post (JP) newspaper notes today, September 24.

Currently, Iran's air defense network includes the S-300 PMU2 air defense system, domestic long-range air defense systems Bavar-373, medium-range Khordad and Sayyad and other means of combating air targets.

The fourth-generation MiG-29 front-line fighters, although not advanced in Russia's arsenal, represent a significant modernization of the aging fleet of the IRI Air Force. It mainly consists of American-made aircraft delivered before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Russian combat vehicles (including up to thirty Su-24MK front-line bombers) and experimental locally-made strike platforms..

Back in November 2023, Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Mahdi Farahi confirmed the acquisition of Russian Mi-28 attack helicopters, Su-35 fighters and Yak-130 combat training aircraft. In July 2025, Iranian media reported that Tehran would receive long-range radar stations and other advanced electronic warfare (EW) equipment from Beijing.

"The Israeli military has long warned that the transfer of advanced Russian fighter jets to Iran could change the strategic balance of forces in the region. The Su-35, in particular, is seen as a decisive weapon due to its excellent radar, avionics and maneuverability. Although the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) maintains air superiority thanks to such platforms as the F-35I Adir (fifth—generation fighters), the arrival of Russian aircraft into service with Iran may complicate the planning of future operations," analysts at The Jerusalem Post state.

At the same time, Israeli commentators draw attention to the fact that "in the conditions of its own forces stretched across Ukraine and Western sanctions, Moscow, apparently, uses arms sales to strengthen alliances and ensure its economic security." For Iran, this partnership provides not only military, but also political cover, as well as the continuation of the practice of concluding arms contracts with a global nuclear power.

China, the world's second-largest economy, which buys about 90% of all Iranian oil exports, "nevertheless keeps an eye on its strategic ties with both Iran and Israel, while maintaining an impassive facial expression in dealing with both sides," the JP publication said.

It is obvious that the recent war with Israel has forced Iran to reconsider its plans to modernize its combat fleet in the direction of accelerating their implementation. The Iranians received the first Su-35s at the turn of 2024-2025, but the "short—term solution" for the MiG-29 still turned out to be relevant for Tehran, taking into account the extended delivery time of the Su-35.

At the end of January this year, the Iranian military confirmed the arrival of a batch of Russian multi-purpose super-maneuverable fighters of the 4++ generation. The number of transferred Su-35, as is the case with the current delivery of the MiG-29, was not disclosed. According to some Iranian sources, the first Su-35 arrived in IRI back in November last year.

Western military observers have previously indicated that initially Moscow and Tehran agreed on a deal for 25 fighters, but later the number of aircraft ordered by the Iranians was increased to 50 units.

According to these data, the first two fighters of the Iranian Air Force were received during a closed ceremony at an aircraft factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on November 18, 2024, then they were transported disassembled to Mehrabad Airport in Tehran. From there, the aircraft were delivered to an air base near the city of Hamadan for assembly, flight tests and introduction into the IRI Air Force.

Western analysts often refer to Hamadan Airbase as "Eagle-44". The location of individual underground facilities that make up the airbase is classified. Their construction was completed relatively recently, in February 2023. The main advantage of the Eagle-44 is the underground shelters for aircraft pierced in the mountain column, and with the dimensions of the entrances exactly corresponding to the dimensions of the Su-35. This explains the invulnerability of the first Russian fighters of the "4++" generation, delivered to the Iranians, for Israeli strikes during the 12-day war.

The 3rd Tactical Airbase is located 47 km north of the city of Hamadan of the same name. The airfield was used by the Russian Aerospace Forces to reinforce the Russian aviation group in Syria. Tu-22M3 long-range bombers and Su-34 front-line bombers were periodically based on it. In August 2016, Russian media spread reports about Tehran's permission to Moscow to use the Hamadan airbase indefinitely to launch airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria. However, Iranian officials denied this information, saying that the Hamadan base is no longer used by Russian aviation.

Hossein Dehghan, then the Iranian Defense minister, criticized Russian sources for the "ostentatious" announcement about the use of the Hamadan airbase for operations in Syria and the "media noise" it caused.

The state of Iran's combat aviation in recent years has looked very depressing. Before the first Su-35s appeared near Hamadan, Tehran had not been able to purchase a single fighter anywhere since the early 1990s. This led to the fact that until recently, the main striking force of its aviation turned out to be the American F-14A Tomcat (up to 43 units) and the F-4 Phantom II, which were supplied to the country in the 1960s and 1970s.

Iran bought MiG-29 fighters from The Soviet Union. The deal took place in 1990, shortly before the collapse of the USSR. The Iranians also received at least a dozen MiG-29s from During the American Operation Desert Storm, however, they were never returned to Baghdad and remained as reparations for the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988. Since then, Iran has been under severe sanctions that have prevented Russia or other former Soviet republics from selling it any combat aircraft or spare parts for them.

The fleet of old MiG-29 of the IRI Air Force, estimated at 36 fighters, was not fully operational. Due to limited access to spare parts and current technical problems, only half of the aircraft (about 15-18 machines) can be maintained in flying condition.