Iran has issued permission for a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter to overfly its territory en route to an international air show in Bahrain, an Iranian embassy official said Tuesday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry complained earlier in the day that Iran had refused to let a Su-27 fly to Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) 2010 to take part in an aerobatics display.

It said permission had initially been issued, but when the plane approached Iran's airspace, the Islamic republic's authorities banned it from entering "for unknown reasons."

However, according to some media reports, the Su-27 was supposed to be transported by a cargo plane to Bahrain.

The BIAS 2010 will run from January 21 through 23.

This event has been billed as "catering for the civil, defense and business aviation markets."

Last Saturday, Russia suspended Su-27 flights until the cause of a deadly crash earlier in the week was determined.

The fighter had been performing a scheduled flight on Thursday and was about 30 km away from the Dzemga airbase in Russia's Far East when it disappeared from radar screens. The body of the pilot was discovered on Saturday.

The Su-27 is an air-superiority long-range, Mach-2 class interceptor-fighter, in service since 1984.

About 450 Su-27 aircraft have been built for the Russian Air Force since 1984, and over 200 jets have been exported to other countries, including China, Indonesia, Angola and some ex-Soviet states.

Last year there were at least two fatal crashes involving an Su-27. On August 30, 2009, a Belarusian Air Force Su-27 fighter crashed while performing aerobatic maneuvers, killing two pilots. Two weeks prior to that, two Su-27 planes had collided during preparations for the MAKS-2009 air show outside Moscow, killing one pilot.

MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti)