Free Republic

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has obtained four S-300 surface-to-air missiles despite Russia's refusal to deliver them to Tehran under a valid contract, a semiofficial Iranian news agency claimed Wednesday.

After protracted disagreements, the Israeli Defense Ministry was reported Wednesday to be close to sewing up a deal to buy up to 25 U.S. F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin, which Israeli leaders believe is essential to counter Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. According to the Jerusalem Post, the two sides reached an agreement on several Israeli demands to integrate Israeli technology into the aircraft. That followed a series of visits to Washington by the commander of Israel's air force, Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, and the air force's equipment and procurement director, Brig. Gen. Kobi Bortman....

The contract on supplying S-300 air defense systems to Iran has not yet been canceled, Rostekhnologii head Sergei Chemezov said on Thursday. Chemezov said the final decision on signing or dropping the contract "must be made by the president." On June 9, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1929 imposing a fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, including tougher financial controls and an expanded arms embargo. The sale of S-300 air defense systems is believed to fall under the sanctions, though earlier Russia said the delivery would not be affected since the weapons are not included...

Iran enjoys a high level missile technology" and S-300 would not be the end point to Iran's efforts in acquiring or developing advanced missile defense technologies, Rapporteur of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazzem Jalali told reporters. Moscow signed a contract with Tehran in 2007 to supply the powerful S-300 missiles to Iran but it has refrained from delivering the system to the county due to the US and Israeli pressures. The S-300 surface-to-air system, known as the SA-20 in the West, can track targets and fire at aircraft 120 kilometers (75 miles) away. It also features...

Tehran is angry at Moscow's decision to freeze the sale of the S-300 missile-defense system.Iran's Intelligence Ministry has called for a "decrease" in ties with Russia, according to Hossein Ebrahimi, a parliament deputy and a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. Ebrahimi told the semiofficial ILNA news agency that the demand was discussed during a meeting between committee members and officials of the Intelligence Ministry. He said lawmakers favor reducing ties with Russia as well as China because of their support for the June 9 UN resolution that imposed new sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its...

A major fire broke out Wednesday in Moscow at a building belonging to Russian missile manufacturer Almaz, the maker of air defence weapons including the S-300 missile system, officials said. The fire at the company's design bureau had spread over an area measuring 800 square metres (8,500 square feet) and dozens of firefighters had been sent to the scene, a spokesman for the Emergency Ministry, Yevgeny Bobylev said. State television pictures showed a huge cloud of grey smoke rising into the sky from the area affected in the north of Moscow. Its cause was not immediately clear

Russia, in wake of its support for United Nations sanctions, was expected to deliver long-range air defense systems to Iran. A leading Russian analyst said the Kremlin would launch efforts to supply the S-300PMU1 air defense system to Teheran. The analyst said the United States has agreed not to block the S-300 and other Russian defensive exports to Iran. "Clearly, there is realization that this contract will take place," Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said. On June 10, Pukhov said Russia's defense industry has been pressing the Kremlin to implement the S-300...

Russia is ready to participate in a tender to offer Turkey S-300 and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, the state-controlled arms exporter said on Wednesday. "The Turkish military has a great need for S-300 and S-400 long-range missile defense systems," Rosoboronexport CEO Anatoly Isaikin said. "Russia has expressed its readiness to participate in a tender for the delivery of such systems." He said leading SAM manufacturers from Western countries would participate in the tender "on a par with Russia." He gave no indication as to what specific SAM modifications would be offered or the timeframe for the tender. Turkish military experts...

Russia signalled on Friday it was scrapping the controversial sale of S-300 missiles to Iran in a major shift the Kremlin said was needed after fresh UN sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme. "S-300 supplies to Iran fall under UN sanctions," a Kremlin source said in Tashkent where President Dmitry Medvedev was attending a summit of a regional security body led by Moscow and Beijing. "Thus this type of weapon cannot be delivered to Iran," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. In a flurry of statements, a number of other senior Russian officials made clear that Moscow was changing...

The U.S. State Department said on Friday that the delivery of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran is not against the recently imposed UN sanctions. The Resolution 1929, adopted on Wednesday, imposes the fourth round of sanctions against Iran, including tougher financial controls and an expanded arms embargo. It also imposes an asset ban and a travel freeze on more than three dozen companies and individuals. "The [Resolution] 1929 prohibits the sale and transfer of items on the U.S. Register of Conventional Arms, which does not include the S-300. That said, this is a sale that Russia concluded with...

On June 9, the United Nations Security Council voted to approve sanctions that target Iran's defense and nuclear industry. But the Security Council resolution does not list defensive weapons, such as air defense systems, as part of the UN ban on Tehran.Specifically, the sanctions do not block Iran's efforts to acquire the S-300PMU1 air defense system from Russia. "This resolution will put in place the toughest sanctions ever faced by the Iranian government, and it sends an unmistakable message about the international community's commitment to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons," U.S. President Barack Obama said. Officials said UN members...

SNIPPET: "Israel Air Force jets attacked three tunnels in the Gaza Strip in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet operation on Thursday night, several hours after a Qassam rocket hit the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. Two of the targets attacked were in the southern Strip and one was in the northern Strip. According to the IDF, terrorists were using the tunnels to try to infiltrate Israel. The IDF Spokesperson's Office said the tunnels were located about 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) from the border fence and that the targets were hit. There have been no reports of injuries among...

Two key Russian parliament members said on Friday proposed UN sanctions on Iran would not affect Russia's controversial sale of S-300 missiles to Tehran, the Interfax news agency reported. The possible sanctions would not hurt "current contracts", said Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament: "As far as Russian economic interests are concerned, this draft does not deal a blow to current contracts existing between Russia and Iran," he told journalists. "We need to remember that Russia is a responsible seller of any of its products on external markets...

Three years after the first foreign customer (Syria) received the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft systems, the Russian Air Force is getting some. The Russian Air Force recently received the S1E version, with an improved radar (36 kilometer range) and missile (more reliable). Curiously, the air force is using their first ten Pantsir-S1s to guard S-300 anti-aircraft missile bases located around Moscow. There was no explanation from the Russians as to why they felt a mobile, low level anti-aircraft system was needed to guard a larger, high altitude one. Perhaps additional protection against cruise missiles. The Russians aren't saying. These ten vehicles were...

Russia is lagging 25 to 30 years behind the United States in developing prospective air defense weapons because of a meltdown of its defense industries, a former Russian air force chief said Thursday. Retired Gen. Anatoly Kornukov said Russia has only a reduced capability to protect itself from an enemy attack — a statement that contrasted sharply with the government's claim that the nation's military are getting stronger following a post-Soviet decline. The Defense Ministry has boasted about developing new S-400 air defense missile systems and proudly displayed some of them in Sunday's massive Victory Day parade on Red Square....

SNIPPET: "According to the paper, in accordance with contracts signed between the two, Russia has supplied Syria with S-300 and Iskander missile defense systems, and there are contacts between the sides for the provision of new models of MiG aircraft and air defense systems."

Obama amputates our nuclear arms By: Charles Krauthammer ...snippet...Under President Obama’s new policy, however, if the state that has just attacked us with biological or chemical weapons is “in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” explained Gates, then “the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it.” Imagine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker...

China now has eight battalions of S-300PMU2 anti-aircraft missile systems, on the coast opposite Taiwan. These missiles have a range of 200 kilometers, and are positioned to fire on Taiwanese fighters as soon as they begin to cross the 180 kilometer wide Taiwan straits. This deployment dismayed most Taiwanese, although Taiwanese military leaders pointed out that they have Patriot anti-aircraft missiles deployed along the island coast. But the Patriot only has a range of 70 kilometers, and no one wants to talk about any electronic countermeasures Taiwan might have, that could neutralize the S-300 radars and missiles. It gets worse....

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman expresses Tehran's disappointment with continued delay in the delivery of the S-300 air defense missile system from Russia. Speaking today about the much delayed delivery of the S-300 system to Iran, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said: "This issue has aggrieved our officials," reported ISNA.

: China recently received the last of 15 battalions of S-300MPU anti-aircraft missile systems bought from Russia. Increasingly, however, China is using its own, locally designed and built, HQ-9 systems. These are also being pushed aggressively to export customers as well. Unlike the S-300, China can upgrade the HQ-9 and sell it to anyone. Thus, earlier this year, an HQ-9 anti-aircraft system successfully shot down a ballistic missile. This capability is important to many potential export customers. China offers HQ-9 for export as the FD-2000. The HQ-9 is roughly equivalent to the U.S. Patriot. While about 30 percent of Chinese...