Why advanced arms sales to Iran carry technology-transfer risks

Why have Iran's partners often been reluctant to sell it advanced weapons?

The proposed reasons are intellectual-property concerns, friction with suppliers, and Iran's interest in using imported technology to develop its own equipment.

One proposed explanation for supplier reluctance is the risk that a finished weapon also transfers the knowledge needed to reproduce it. Iran's ambition to develop equipment domestically would then make a sale useful beyond the individual systems delivered. Concerns about intellectual-property protection and friction between Iran and its partners are offered as further possible reasons. This is an interpretation of supplier incentives, without a particular arms agreement being examined.