Mig-35 is a dead project.
You are entitled to your opinion, but I don't agree.
The Su-35/30 and Su-57 are simply too expensive to buy and to operate to have as your only fighter aircraft... you need a smaller cheaper numbers aircraft, which was the intent and purpose of the MiG-35, and it is also the intent and purpose of the Checkmate and the F-35, although the F-35 was a terrible example that went in the opposite direction because of corruption and politics.
RuAF bought it in hope to push foreign clients to buy it if they see russian air force considering it. They will never order it.
Of course they are going to order it, they have ordered some, there are plenty of operations any air force needs to perform that don't require Su-35 or Su-57 level performance or cost, for which a MiG-35 is just fine... flying around with long range AAMs or lots of short range missiles... a MiG-35 can do that cheaper and easier than an Su-35 can... the MiG can carry pretty much all the same weapons and equipment, in a smaller lighter cheaper platform.
And don't say they are testing it because the aircraft is just a mig-29SMT in a new build body. They already know it. Aesa radar isn't fitted in them. There is nothing new to test.
All the avionics are upgraded and different, they will test the AESA radar when it is ready for service... if they are going that way... for all we know they might think newer technologies might make more sense and the MiG-35 is a stopgap while they get their 5th gen light fighter ready for testing...
We really don't know if a 5th gen light fighter that is cheap to operate is even possible... obviously Sukhoi make claims but they are going to claim such things are they not?
IMHO the light fighter should not be as light as possible... the Gripen shows if you make it too light it is not so capable and you need two or three of them to get the job done... which means you would be better with a single heavy fighter doing the job instead.
The waters are also muddied by the S-70 type drones that could also be used to add numbers to an air force.
Jf-17 isn't better but is a ready design and chinese now offer a far wider range of weapon for them than russians offer for any of their aircraft.
For Iran, surely a better design with twin engines offers much better growth potential if needed, and I am not sure where you got the idea that China has a wider range of weapons for them.... they generally have domestic stuff, which is a small group, the copied Russian and Soviet stuff, which is not complete, and the copied western stuff... the copied stuff is generally not as good as the stuff it is copied from, so perhaps they do have a wider range of weapons, but how many of those weapons are useful?
Having an enormous range of weapons just complicates your logistics and planning for missions... having 20 different types of unguided rocket pod is not much use unless you want a flight of 20 planes each carrying one type each and even then what sort of advantage would that be in the real world?
Specially for ground attack missiles and glinding bomb as well as precision guided bombs.
The Russians have an enormous range of air to ground bombs and missiles...
They also offer a wider range of EO pods.
For Iran that is no advantage... they are not so rich as to be able to buy them all, so they will likely try them all and select one or perhaps two for one or two specific roles...
Pl-15 is also much more attractive than the shitty r-77/rvv-ae. Rvv-sd being bought by no one which suggested they are not giving it for export. Russia new weapons have been showed only as models and don't seem to be produced.
Russian weapons are being used in combat in Syria and Ukraine and seem to be doing the job they were designed for... can you say the same about Chinese weapons?
Even the kh-38 doesn't seem to be produced let alone gliding bombs which are a must have for modern forces.
Seem... you are basing your opinion on an assumption.
Chinese production rate is also higher than russia's and their prices are also less fix...
Completely untested... how often do all those ships go to sea?
China sends troops to its Indian border but does not seem keen to use its stealthy planes...
And how many tactical weapons are they producing... and what are they doing with them all?