13 years after implementation, the UN Security Council arms embargo against Iran has expired, and is finally lifted. This ends UN legal obstacles to Iran buying conventional weapons and services related to those arms.
The embargo’s end comes despite US and Israeli opposition, and with threats from both to attempt to keep enforcing the no longer in place embargo. This only applies to UN restrictions, as EU embargoes on Iran remain in place through at least 2023.
The most likely sellers to Iran are Russia and China. The two nations have no legal obstacles any longer, probably won’t be cowed by US threats, and Russia has repeatedly said they intend to make offers of defensive equipment to Iran once this embargo ended.
Iranian officials say that they don’t have any intention of engaging in any major arms acquisitions right now. Iranian leaders are emphasizing this as a diplomatic victory, with the embargo expiration coming as part of the P5+1 nuclear deal.
That’s likely a big part of why this is so galling for the US, as they’ve been trying to undermine that nuclear deal for years, and having thwarted most of the sanctions relief the deal was meant to ensure, have proven incapable of stopping the arms embargo’s lifting.
There’s not much Russia or China can afford to sell Iran that the Iranians can’t build for themselves.
Iran is too broke for big-ticket items like planes, helicopters, advanced armoured vehicles and large warships.
However, Iran can make rifles and a full spectrum of missile systems with bells and whistles.
A non-nuclear defensive military force is not all that complex or expensive for a country with Iran’s geographical advantages.
Iran is not broke does not need cash to pay for any arms…! It has other resources that are far more in demands than cash…!
Iran is wealthy but not in liquid cash. A fleet of SU-35s would be expensive.
A barter in a basket of goods from metals to foods plus some fiat maybe could be worked out, but straight cash is the easiest and most efficient method of payment by far.