Iran has purchased Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, a high-ranking member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has confirmed. The Iranian Students News Agency reported the statement from Ali Shadmani IRGC engineering firm Khatam-al Anbiya deputy coordinator.

For the first time, an Iranian official has confirmed Western suspicions that Tehran has purchased the Russian-designed Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet. Ali Shadmani, the deputy coordinator of the Khatam-ol-Anbia Central Headquarters and a senior official within the IRGC,

But they warn that, if that fails, Iran is on a collision course with the west. European powers that opposed Trump’s maximum pressure during his first term have become more angry with Iran’s behaviour, including the continued expansion of its nuclear activity, its arms sales to Russia and its alleged targeting of citizens in the west.

Iran is closely watching how the new Trump administration may handle Iran policy. While Iran may have expected a “maximum pressure” campaign from Washington to return, the way it had existed during the first administration.