Israel Haymon:
The Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on Monday that Russia is expected to deliver a second shipment of its S-300 air defense missile system to Iran.
The report, which relies on an interview with the director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Alexander Pumin, was published a few days after Farzad Esmaili, commander of Iran’s Air Defense Base, said that he expected the system to become operational by the end of the year.
The S-300, first deployed by the Soviet Union in 1979 during the Cold War, has the capability to track and intercept multiple aircraft and ballistic missiles simultaneously at ranges of hundreds of kilometers. It is one of the most potent air defense weapons in the world.
Russia canceled a contract to deliver S-300s to Iran in 2010 under pressure from the West, but Russia lifted that ban early last year in the wake of the signing of an interim nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.
