Posted: 12/22/2008 4:41:30 AM EDT
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I don't believe this for a second. A mere new missile system should pose NO problems for an unbeatable force such as the IDF.
5sub According to intelligence officials familiar with the defense capabilities of the S-300, the missile system would effectively rule out an Israeli war against Iran.
"If Tehran obtained the S-300, it would be a game-changer in military thinking for tackling Iran," says long-time Pentagon advisor Dan Goure. Iran Takes Russian Air Defense System
December 22, 2008 BBC Iran has confirmed the commencement of the delivery of a powerful anti-aircraft missile defense system to the country from Russia. Deputy Head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission in Iran's parliament, Esma'il Kowsari, said Sunday that Tehran has reached an agreement with Moscow on the delivery of the advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile system after years of negotiations. "The missile system would be used to enhance Iran's defense capabilities and to protect the country's sovereignty," Kowsari told IRNA. The confirmation came after Ha'aretz reported this past Tuesday that Israel would send the head of political military policy in the Israeli Defense Ministry, Major General Amos Gil'ad, to press the Kremlin not to supply Iran with S-300 missile defense systems. The Iranian official responded, however, that Israeli reactions to Tehran-Moscow military cooperation would not affect the deal. Later on Wednesday, Russia announced that it is fulfilling the controversial deal and would deliver the anti-aircraft system to Iran. "Moscow has earlier met its obligations on supplying Tor-M1 systems to Iran and is currently implementing a contract to deliver S-300 systems," RIA Novosti quoted an unnamed Russian source as saying. Western countries have criticized Russian sales of defensive military equipment to Iran, saying that such deals have sabotaged efforts to retard Iranian nuclear progress. The advance version of the S-300 system, the S-300PMU1 (SA-20 Gargoyle), can intercept 100 ballistic missiles and aircraft at once, at low and high altitudes within a range of over 150 kilometres. According to intelligence officials familiar with the defense capabilities of the S-300, the missile system would effectively rule out an Israeli war against Iran. "If Tehran obtained the S-300, it would be a game-changer in military thinking for tackling Iran," says long-time Pentagon advisor Dan Goure. The U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of making efforts to build a nuclear weapon and have threatened to launch air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. In preparation for military action against Iran, Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier in June. According to a report by the New York Times, more than 100 U.S.-made Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters participated in the maneuvers over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece. Later reports claimed that Greece, which is equipped with the same version of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system, assisted the Israeli Air Force in studying the system. http://www.military.com/news/article/iran-takes-russian-air-defense-system.html?col=1186032310810&ESRC=topstories.RSS |
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Officials: Russia not delivering S-300 to Iran
Dec. 21, 2008 herb keinon and yaakov katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Israeli officials categorically denied on Sunday Iranian press reports that Russia will soon begin delivery of a state-of-the-art anti-missile system that could make it considerably harder to attack the Islamic republic's nuclear facilities. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel had been assured by senior Russian officials that these reports were "baseless," and that the Kremlin stood by the agreement, reached with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during his visit there in October, not to sell weapons in the region that would "tip the strategic balance." On Sunday, the Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Esmaeil Kosari, deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy, as saying that Teheran would take delivery of the S-300 air defense system from Russia "soon." According to IRNA, Kosari said Iran and Russia had finalized a deal after holding negotiations for several years. The S-300 is one of the most advanced multi-target anti-aircraft missile systems in the world, and has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12. The S-300 system was first deployed by the USSR in 1979 and was designed to defend large industrial and administrative facilities and military bases, and to control airspace against enemy aircraft. It has a range of about 200 km. and can hit targets at altitudes of 27,000 meters. Iran already has TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles from Russia. Referring to Jerusalem's opposition to the sale, Kosari said, "Israel is trying to create obstacles to Iran's progress. But the independent countries, including Iran, have national sovereignty and they make decisions on their ties with other states." Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's diplomatic-military bureau, was in Moscow for two days of talks last week, where the S-300 was on the agenda. The other major topic was a Russian request to buy unmanned aerial vehicles from Israel. In an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax on Friday, Gilad said Israel hoped Moscow would take the Jewish state's security needs into account in its arms sales to the Middle East. "The deliveries of dangerous armaments to our enemies won't serve the interests of peace and, for instance, can help Iran wipe Israel off the face of the earth. So we expect Russia to demonstrate responsibility on the issue," Gilad said. "We know that we are expected to respect Russia's interests," he added. "We in turn expect that Russia will respect our interests, the willingness of our small country to live in peace." Officials in the Defense Ministry would not comment directly on the content of Gilad's talks. However, a senior defense official said, "It is unlikely that Russia will sell the S-300 to Iran. It is not in Russia's interest for Iran to have such advanced weaponry." http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1229868801007&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |