Overview

• Abolfazl Zohrevand, a member of parliament’s national security committee, said Russian MiG-29s have arrived in Shiraz, Su-35s are en route, and Russia’s S-400 and China’s HQ-9 air defenses are being supplied.
• Defense analysts quoted by Forbes, including Farzin Nadimi and Arash Azizi, dismissed the assertions as highly unlikely in the near term.
• Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, publicly denied that Tehran has even requested the S-400 system.
• China in early July officially rejected reports that it had delivered air-defense missiles to Iran after the June fighting with Israel.
• Iran reportedly ordered 50 Su-35s by 2021, yet there is still no verified delivery, echoing a pattern of premature claims later denied or unfulfilled.