Russia will supply new anti-aircraft missiles for Iran
Pastor Dale Morgan
Russia will supply new anti-aircraft missiles for Iran*
· Advanced S-300 could hit US and Israeli fighter jets
· Air defence system 'better than American version'
Luke Harding in Moscow
Thursday December 27, 2007
The Guardian
Russia is to supply Iran with a new and lethal anti-aircraft system
capable of shooting down American or Israeli fighter jets in the event
of any strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Iran yesterday confirmed that Russia had agreed to deliver the S-300 air
defence system, a move that is likely to irk the Bush administration and
gives further proof of Russia and Iran's deepening strategic partnership.
Iran's defence minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, told Iranian TV that
the deal had been agreed under a previous "contract". He did not say
when the system would be shipped to Iran.
Russian defence experts yesterday acknowledged that the missile system,
originally designed in the 1970s, would significantly enhance Iran's
ability to shoot down enemy aircraft.
The S-300 had a range far superior to that of the US Patriot system,
experts said. It could also shoot down cruise and ballistic missiles,
they added.
"It's a formidable system. It really gives a new dimension to Iran's
anti-aircraft defences," said one Russian defence expert, who declined
to be named.
"It's purely a defensive system. But it's very effective. It's much
better than the US system. It has good radar. It can shoot down
low-flying cruise missiles, though with some difficulty."
The sale follows Russian president Vladimir Putin's visit to Iran in
October to attend a meeting of Caspian Sea nations, the first trip by a
Russian head of state to Tehran since Stalin attended a 1943 summit with
Churchill and Roosevelt.
Putin has made clear his opposition to the US hardline stance on Iran,
and has defended Iran's right to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme.
He has also repeatedly derided the Bush administration's plans to build
a missile defence system in Europe to counter a potential nuclear
missile fired by Iran or North Korea.
Yesterday Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, repeated the
Kremlin's contention that the Pentagon's defence shield was aimed at
"deterring" Russia, and not at a "hypothetical threat" from Iran.
Lavrov also alleged that the US administration was working to overthrow
the Iranian regime. "I think this is a concurrent goal," he said. "If
our American partners pursue the aim of regime change... this would be
an alteration of policies and we would oppose it."
Earlier this month, Russia delivered the first 80-tonne shipment of fuel
to Iran's Bushehr power station, which Russian engineers are
controversially building under a $1bn (£504m) contract.
Russia has been Iran's main weapons supplier for several decades.
Earlier this year Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1 defence missile systems to
Iran under a $700m contract signed in December 2005.
Russian officials would not comment on the Iranian statement, but
defence sources told the Interfax news agency that a contract for the
missiles' delivery had been signed several years ago. They envisaged the
delivery of several dozen S-300 missile systems, they added.
The S-300 is much more powerful and versatile than the Tor-M1. The S-300
is capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic
missile warheads at ranges of nearly 100 miles, and at altitudes of up
to 90,000 feet.
Rumours about the sale of S-300 missile systems to Iran have circulated
for a long time, but Russian officials had consistently denied it.
On Tuesday, Russia's military successfully test-fired a new
intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear
warheads - a weapon intended to replace ageing Soviet-era missiles,
Associated Press reported.
The RS-24 missile was launched from the Plesetsk facility in northern
Russia, and its test warheads hit targets on the Kura testing range on
the Kamchatka peninsula, some 4,340 miles east, strategic missile forces
spokesman Alexander Vovk told AP.