1. Won't land in FATF blacklist. That is pretty much a given.
Who do you think will vote for Pakistan in October? They need 3 votes to stay out and those were China, Turkey and Malaysia. This time I don't think Malaysia will vote for Pakistan. China's going to have to find another country. So there's a chance, unless the US themselves plan to keep Pakistan out of FATF anyway. Does China get two votes due to Hong Kong?
I think the October FATF meet should be our last gambit with the aim of getting Pakistan into the blacklist. If Malaysia votes against and Pakistan still escapes, then we can be sure that the FATF is completely useless to deal with them. They can stay in the gray list forever after that.
2. Iran does not have the resources to undergo changes of large magnitude. Saudis have.
A Su-30SM costs half that of the LCA Mk1A. This is in fact the best time for Iran to modernise.

Russian Defense Ministry Signs Contract for Modern Multi-Role Fighter Jets
The Russian Defense Ministry signed a contract Monday with aircraft manufacturer Irkut for the delivery of eight Su-30SM multi-role fighter jets, and teed up a larger contract for up to 75 of the military planes, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.
At the MAKS air show held outside Moscow in late August, UAC CEO Yury Slyusar said his company would sign a 100 billion ruble ($1.5 billion) contract with the Defense Ministry for another 48 Su-35 fighters by the end of this year.
That's absolutely peanuts. $21M for the first contract and $31M for the second one.

Russia’s Most Effective Fighter? Defence Ministry Continues to Place Large Orders for Elite Su-30SM Air Superiority Jets - New Batch of 36 Incoming
With production lines for the Su-34 strike fighter and Su-35 ‘4++ Generation’ air superiority fighter working to manufacture approximately 200 fighters since 2014

This contract is for the Su-30SM1, with the Su-35's radar and engine. It comes up to only $28M per unit.
Not to mention, there's the advantage of the rial(toman)-ruble trade to make use of. At the very least I see them making tranche purchases. And anyway, a large purchase will also take a long period of time and would be a better deal if the Iranians get full control over the aircraft.
3. Leverage over Pakistan. Saudis will never leave a chance to gain that over Pakistan.
Shouldn't we in turn gain leverage over the Saudis over the next 5 years? Weak oil prices, big market, EV threat etc.
What I have been trying to drive in to the fanboys and fangirls over the past few days.
Saudis act through Sunni Baluch groups which operate in Sistan. Iran retaliates using BLA etc who also get help from Afghanistan. India piggybacks, like the times of support to Northern Alliance. We use our soft power here to meet our objectives.
Unfortunately, people are happy claiming things that are simply not there.
Yeah, but I think this is a whole different topic though. We should continue to keep our image clean by not getting into the BLA and TTP business, as we have been doing. No doubt about that.
The surprise part was the accuracy of Iranian ballistic missiles. The Americans were given enough warning so that they would cover beneath Saddam era sheds.. Still more than a 100 suffered brain injuries.. and concussions and 29 were awarded purple hearts.. lol.. It was no more the era where US soldiers could snore off, being content that Saddam's scuds would just fly overhead because Moslems couldn't master accurate ballistic missiles...
Yeah, that injuries story was a bit weird.