Iran established an arms development program during the Iran–Iraq War to counter the weapons embargo imposed on it by the U.S. and its Western allies.
Since 1993, Iran has manufactured its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, radars, boats, submarines, unmanned aerial vehicles, and fighter planes.
Cases exist where Iran was supplied with equipment even before it was made standard in the countries that developed it (for example the US F-14 Tomcat, or the British Chieftain Tank).
The war eventually forced Iran to turn to the Soviet Union, North Korea, Brazil, and China to meet its short-term military requirements.
After the Iranian revolution, developments in military technology were carried out with the technical support of Russia, China, and North Korea; building upon the foundations established by western contractors.