Moscow has zero hesitation to make a committed customer out of the Islamic Republic once the current arms embargo comes to an end.
The current arms embargo on Iran is set to expire on October 18, after the request from the United States to extend it was denied in August of this year by the United Nations. Russia has made it very clear that they intend to make a routine customer out of the Islamic Republic following the expiration.
Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan, expressing Russia’s intent to arm the Iranians, stated, “We have said since the very first day that there will be no problem selling arms to Iran from October 19. We have provided Iran with S-300. Russia does not have any problem delivering S-400 to Iran and it did not have any problem before either.”
Perhaps best said by former Israeli ambassador to Russia Zvi Magen – and first noted by The Jerusalem Post – “Russia wants to set things straight. Iran has already begun talking about its intentions to acquire weapons after the embargo ends, so Russia wants to ensure it’s from them.”
Undoubtedly, while Iran sees this as a win because weapons will be waiting for them upon the expiration of the embargo, Russia sees it as a victory because they have a promising customer. Furthermore, both of them see value in the upcoming arms partnership because it further contests the US influence in the region. But such actions will not go unnoticed by the US, who is prepared to sanction anyone involved in arming the Iranians.
