Army Commander Lieutenant General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said Iran is no longer interested in buying T-90 battle tanks from Russia and plans to supply its needs through domestic production.
“We were once interested in buying the Russian tanks. But since we can manufacture similar models in the country and plan to do so in the near future, the deal is now off,” Pourdastan was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency on Tuesday.
According to the general, Iran has enough capacity and knowhow to produce new-generation battle tanks and advanced military hardware, so it makes no sense to purchase them from elsewhere.
Pourdastan had said back in December, the country was planning to purchase advanced T-90 tanks from Russia and made the proposal to the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.
T-90 is a Russian third-generation main battle tank that is essentially an upgraded version of T-72B. It is currently the most modern tank in service with the Russian Army.
