Russia Selling S-300 Air Missile System To Iran
Russia SELLING S-300 SURFACE TO AIR MISSILE SYSTEM TO IRAN . IN A PROVOCATIVE MOVE, VLADIMIR PUTIN LIFTED THE BAN ON SELLING S-300 SURFACE TO AIR MISSILES TO IRAN. The embargo, dating back to 2010, when the U.S. objected strongly to this, Putin backed off and banned the sale. This clearly shows that Obama is losing control of the international consensus on Iran. Many believe that the turn around by Russia to sell the S-300 missiles, comes on the heals of the preliminary deal being worked out and finalized in late June with Iran. The S-300 is strictly a defensive weapon. Russia is in essence provoking Israel to attack Iran. “It also sets Israel a deadline to attack Iran–since Israel has treated the S-300 system as a “red line,” and has attacked Syria several times recently to prevent advanced Russian air defense and anti-ship missile systems from becoming operational. The Kremlin lifted its self-imposed ban on the delivery of a powerful missile air-defense system to Iran on Monday, stoking sharp criticism from the White House and Israel and casting fresh doubt on the international effort to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. U.S. lawmakers seized on Moscow’s announcement Monday to warn Russia was among a host of foreign countries using the prospect of a nuclear deal to begin seeking out lucrative business deals that could bolster Iran’s military and economy. Any delivery of an air-defense system would complicate airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities by Israel or the U.S. should the diplomatic track fail. Iran thinks that Russia will deliver the missile system this year, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told the Interfax news agency in Moscow on Tuesday. The U.S. Senate is set to vote this week on legislation that would provide Congress with the power to approve, amend or kill any agreement that seeks to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions. Supporters of the bill, Republican and Democrat, said Russia’s lifting of its ban on the S-300 surface-to-air missile system could be just the beginning of countries testing the sanctions regime and a United Nations arms embargo on Iran. “Before a final nuclear deal is even reached, [Russian President] Vladimir Putin has started to demolish international sanctions and ignore the U.N. arms embargo,” said Sen. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.), who sponsored legislation that seeks to impose new sanctions on Iran if a final deal isn’t reached by June 30.
