Will Russia Deliver Those S-300s?
Some sources report that Russia’s deal to deliver S-300 missiles to Iran is not affected by the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions against Iran, while others say it is. Regardless, the former Soviet Union has yet to deliver the missiles to the rogue state. Despite U.N. Security Council sanctions, Iran hasn’t skipped a beat in the hubris department. An excerpt:
“‘The S-300 is absolutely necessary for Iran,’ Mustafa Alani, a regional security expert from the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, said in a telephone interview today. ‘They are very disappointed as they have a huge gap in their air defense and this would solve a big part of it.’
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“The S-300′s latest model is able to hit targets from a range of 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) to 200 kilometers and at a height of 100 meters to 27 kilometers, according to its manufacturer, OAO Air Defense Concern Almaz-Antei.”
After denying the deal and calling Iran unstable, Russia eventually admitted to selling Iran S-300s. In February, U.N. Security Council deputy secretary Vladimir Nazarov said, “There is a signed contract…which we must implement, but deliveries have not started yet. This deal is not restricted by any international sanctions, because the talk is about deliveries of an exclusively defensive weapon.” (Source)
