Times of Israel
Germany on May 9. (Alexander Avilov / Moskva News Agency / AFP)
Iran used Russian-made long-range air defense systems in a military exercise on Wednesday, following Israeli strikes in October which Israel said had seriously weakened Tehran’s defensive capabilities.
Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday that in a simultaneous operation, Iran’s long-range air defense system Bavar-373 and Russian-made S-300 shot down a hypothetical hostile target by firing missiles.
“Some enemy officials and media outlets, after the malicious attack in October, had claimed that they had rendered Iran’s long-range air defense systems non-operational,” it said, referring to Israeli strikes.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian deepened military ties between their countries, signing a 20-year strategic partnership. Though the agreement made no specific mention of arms transfers, the two sides said they would develop “military-technical cooperation.”
The exercises Wednesday took place one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump to discuss regional topics including Iran’s nuclear program.\
