The 11th Iran International Airshow & Aerospace Exhibition will conclude today amid growing Western concerns about drone sales to Russia – Photo: Aviation Week Network/M.H. Jahanpanah

The 11th Iran International Airshow & Aerospace Exhibition concludes today on Kish Island.

A total of 80 Iranian and 10 foreign firms from China, Russia and Ethiopia presented aviation technologies at the four-day event. The exhibition comes amid growing concerns about deeper Russian-Iranian military ties. Last week the US imposed new sanctions on three Russian aerospace entities, citing Tehran supplying Moscow with unmanned drones for use in Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russia attacked Kyiv with a swarm of Iranian-made drones, 13 of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems.

Iranian drone sales aid Russia’s efforts to strike Ukrainian infrastructure beyond the eastern front while also building bilateral economic and military ties between the two countries. While Iran supplied Russia with military technologies before the war, the decision to sell drones more brazenly to Russia may have two important consequences. The first is a likely further deterioration of already poor relations between the US, the EU and their allies and Iran. The second could be greater crackdown by Tehran on anti-government protestors in Iran. The attempt to project Iran’s outward strength by directly supplying Russia with weapons is likely intended to detract from internal instability threatening the survival of the current regime.