The United Arab Emirates is awaiting final assurances from France and the Iraqi government to sell its fleet of Dassault Mirage 2000-9s before completing their deal for 60 Rafale fighters, Defense News has learned.

The UAE has been looking to sell its fleet of Mirage fighters to the Iraqi Air Force since 2011 and over the years discussions have faltered due to France blocking the deal, according to a UAE government official and a French source knowledgeable about the negotiations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The intended deal would see the UAE initially provide 10 aircraft to the Iraqi Air Force, with the funds paid directly to Dassault as part of the down payment for the UAE's Rafale deal.

الامارات العربيه المتحده تنتظر تأكيدا نهائيا من فرنسا ومن الحكومه العراقيه لبيع اسطولها من مقاتلات Mirage 2000-9 قبل ان تتم صفقه شراء الامارات لقرابه 60 مقاتله Rafale من فرنسا كما علم موقع Defence News 

الامارات كانت تتطلع لبيع اسطولها من مقاتلات ميراج للعراق منذ 2011 , ولكن الصفقه لم تتم بسبب رفض فرنسا حسب مانقله مسؤولون اماراتيون وفرنسيون رسميون 

الصفقه الجديده المنوي عليها تشمل بيع الامارات ل 10 مقاتلات Mirage 2000-9 الى العراق واستثمار العائد المالي من الصفقه كدفعه اوليه لصفقه ال Rafale 

The well-informed French source stated that in its efforts to reduce the costs of the deal and finalize the agreement the French government has waived military service fees involved in the contract reducing the overall cost by 10 percent.

"To facilitate the Rafale deal, the government has taken over the 'airco' cost of training, maintenance support and other military-provided services to reduce the cost for the UAE," he said.

The UAE source stated that the expected cost of each aircraft is expected to be around $250 million for a total cost of $15 billion.

According to the UAE source, the latest discussions on the deal for the Rafale was on Jan. 18 at the al-Bahr Palace in Abu Dhabi.

During a visit to Abu Dhabi this week, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said about the Rafale deal: "There are continuing talks, we are optimistic (French Defence Minister) Jean-Yves Le Drian and I ... things look positive."

"Agreements only become a reality after they are signed. However, we touched on this subject with the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan when we met with him on Monday in Abu Dhabi," Fabius said.

 وحسب مصدر فرنسي مطلع فأن الحكومه الفرنسيه ابعدت رسوم الخدمه العسكريه مما يقلل من قيمه صفقه ال Rafale للامارات بحوالي 10%
مصدر اماراتي يتوقع ان تبلغ سعر الطائره الواحده في الصفقه = 250 مليون دولار وقيمة الصفقه بالمجمل = 15 مليار دولار 

وحسب مصدر اماراتي فأن المحادثات الاخير جرت في ابو ظبي يوم 18 يناير الجاري 

The UAE is in discussions with Iraq's government to have the Mirages operate in Kurdistan, the UAE source stated.

"We want to provide these fighters to the Kurdish territories but the Iraqi central government has requested the provision of these fighters to them," the source said.

The source added that since September, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has made a number of visits to the UAE and held extensive discussions on the matter.

"The Iraqi government assured us that the Kurdish territories will be protected and we are awaiting the French decision now," he stated.

According to Wathaq al-Hashimi, director of the Iraqi Group for Strategic Studies, Iraq has presented its case to the UAE and is very keen to acquire the aircraft.

"The ball now is in the UAE's court, the Iraqi government wants the aircraft to be based in Al Balad Air Base and will be used in operations from Kurdistan to Al Faw in the south," Hashimi said.

In January 2015, the UAE offered up to 10 Mirage 2000-9s to the Iraqi Air Force, following a visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to Abu Dhabi.

The same UAE source said at the time that the UAE is trying to fortify Iraq's security from north to south, specifically the areas from Baghdad to Erbil.

الامارات تريد ان تتمركز طائراتها التي ستباع للعراق في كردستان العراق
حيث عرضت الامارات على العراق 10 مقاتلات Mirage 2000-9 اثناء زيارة رئيس الوزراء العراقي  الى الامارات في يناير 2015
ويبدو ان الامارات تريد للطائرات ان تتمركز في كردستان باعتبارها أأمن للطائرات 

لكن الحكومه العراقيه المركزيه طلبت الطائرات لها 
وابتداءا من سبتمبر 2015 بدا وزير الخارجيه العراقيه سلسله زيارات ومحادثات مع الامارات 
وحسب واثق الهاشمي وهو خبير عسكري فان العراق متمسك بهذه الطائرات وانه يرد ان تتمركز الميراج في قاعدة بلد الجويه 

العراق قريب من الحصول على مقاتلات فرنسية «محدثة» عن طريق الإمارات