No S-300 missiles delivered to Iran, Russia says

No S-300 missiles delivered to Iran, Russia says

www.presstv.ir

Amid bitter squabbles over Iran's quest for acquiring the advanced S-300 air defense system, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov says no such missile has so far been delivered to Iran.

In reaction to Israeli rhetoric against Tehran, Iran has opted to acquire the sophisticated S-300 defense system — which, according to Western experts, would rule out the possibility of an Israeli airstrike on Iranian nuclear sites.

While a deal has been negotiated between Tehran and Moscow over the S-300 system since 2007, neither side has so far issued an official confirmation on the delivery

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This seems to be a developing story. Scuttlebutt has it that Russia may have just simply canceled the deal. I can't confirm that has happened yet, but a little bird just gave me the lowdown.[unconfirmed] That they have done just that Canceled the deal.

I'm sure Israel is pleased with this possible development.

Your thoughts?




www.presstv.ir
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 28-10-2009 by SLAYER69]

Interesting to say the least.

I thought they had already been delivered and payed for which to me explained why Israel had not already done some sort of military exercise or stretched their muscles in front of Iran over the past few months.

I wonder what the report from the IEA will be over the new facility, I am sure if it's positive they will find some way to say that Iran covered it up or didn't show them the whole thing.

~Keeper

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Well this could potentially be a geopolitical bombshell if true. This could possibly mean there was some backroom agreement over missiles in Easern Europe in exchange for no missiles for Iran. The US and Russia are still doing their thing.

Playing chess...

National security adviser Jones to Russia Wednesday

In a statement, the White House said Jones was invited by his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev. Jones will also meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian officials.

The statement said Jones would discuss other "bilateral issues" with the Russian government without elaborating which ones.

But one of those unmentioned is certainly more pressing than others.

Missile shield shift opens common ground for Russia and US

Strategists say that President Barack Obama's decision to scrap a controversial missile shield for Eastern Europe has mollified Russia, and could open the door for cooperation against common nuclear threats.

reply to post by SLAYER69


BAH!

I bet the US gave Russians something very exciting for them to drop the Missle deal with Iran. A little strange considering that NASA will have to rely on the Russian Space Program in 2010 if funding doesn't get extended and the Ares isn't ready yet.

Hmmm, I wonder what possible thing Russia could have wanted.

~Keeper

Originally posted by tothetenthpower

Hmmm, I wonder what possible thing Russia could have wanted.

~Keeper

If history shows us how these things play out the US already played their piece by abandoning the missile shield as it was, then a few weeks later Russia does this. That way it doesn't appear as if a deal was struck.

Same thing happened during the Cuban missile crises The Soviets backed out of Cuba then a few months later we "retired" some missiles systems they wanted gone.

reply to post by SLAYER69


I see it as Russia making a great choice here...
the entire world is struggling to get the global markets back on track and while I'm sure Russia could have used the money from this sale.... making a sale to such a destabilizing entity would only set back months and months of hard work on everyone's part... Good for Russia!

If this deal was negotiated in 2007, Russia has been using Iran as a bargaining chip all along to get what Russia wants.

I would think that 2 years would be more than enough time to deliver the goods.

reply to post by jam321


Here is an interesting perspective.

Take it for what it is a [Opinion]
Don't wait for Russia

Multilateralists may answer that Russia will ultimately come around because it cannot possibly want a nuclear Iran on its doorstep.

There are two answers to that. One, Russia may dismiss Iran's technological prowess and think the Iranians will never come around to master the required science to build a bomb -- it may be a wrong assessment but one that fits views of the non-Slavic world that hold purchase in certain Russian policy-making circles. The Russians may also think that in any case, sooner or later, Israel or the U.S. (or both) will attack and destroy the Iranian program. So why be seen as hostile in Tehran? They'll be free riders, benefiting from the attack politically (no nukes on their borders) and economically (Russian contractors will clear the rubble and rebuild the damaged infrastructure).

[edit on 28-10-2009 by SLAYER69]

Considering how Russia normally hold nothing back for cold, hard cash, this is a bit of a surprise.

Which tells me that Russia did not forego that money they could have had. I guarantee you, the Russians got something to replace that money - a benefit of some sort.

I recall months ago reading that Russia had signed a deal to purchase quite a number of Israeli UAV's.

Then Israel and Russia have meetings.

The US decides to not deploy the MDS.

The devil of course, is in the details.

People place entirely too much value on these S-300 systems. This S-300 deal is touted as a game changer for Iran and its foreign policy. Well it isn't.

While the S-300 is a highly capable long-range defense system, for maximum effectiveness it has to function along with other similarly advanced short and mid range SAM systems (without them there is a gap in its defense capability), as well as vital defense components such as air force, intel, and communications. It was designed to act as a part of an integrated defense, and is not nearly as effective as stand-alone equipment. Iran doesn't have other vital defense components of similarly advanced level, so the S-300 would not play as much deterrent role for someone like the US.

It is not the presence of the S-300 that would have deterred US or Israel from attacking Iran. Deterrence is in the fact that Iran is a large country with a population of about 70 million, and considerable resources. Iran can turn around and flood Iraq/Afghanistan with insurgents, even if US manages to destroy much of its military.



So whether Russia sold/will sell the S-300 to Iran does not make a huge difference, and is certainly not a game changer. If Russia does scrap the deal, it would be a largely symbolic gesture to show the US/Israel that it is willing to cooperate on the Iran issue. But even that wouldn't mean that that the attack on Iran is possible or plausible. Everyone is forgeting another major player here - China. China has more potential stake in Iran than Russia, and it not will be won over easily (or at all for that matter). So even with Russia on board, there would still be no sanctions passed through UN.



That being said, I would not be surprised if this news about scrapped deal are true. There does appear to be a noticeable change in Russia's arms sales strategy. Not long ago Russia canceled a possible deal to sell jets to Syria. Soon after that there were news that Russia plans to sell military equipment to Saudi Arabia (who had US as its arms supplier for a long time), and now possibly to the new Iraqi army. It will be interesting to see how these negotiations turn out, and what US's stance will be. If the deals move forward, then it is likely that US gave its behind-the-scenes approval.

Originally posted by maloy

It is not the presence of the S-300 that would have deterred US or Israel from attacking Iran. Deterrence is in the fact that Iran is a large country with a population of about 70 million, and considerable resources. Iran can turn around and flood Iraq/Afghanistan with insurgents, even if US manages to destroy much of its military.


That being said, I would not be surprised if this news about scrapped deal are true.

I honestly don't see the US/Israel carrying out any attack. The Political fallout would be enormous.

I say it's all smoke and mirrors.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Exactly - there will be no attack. All this talk of attack on Iran was completely unrealistic to begin with, and bordered on delusional.

Neither US nor Israel can prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear or any other weapons it wants. The question is what the cost/benefit trade off to Iran in acquiring those weapons - that is what it will come down to. US and its allies can play whatever political games they want, heck they can even manage to somehow get Russia to play on their side - but I simply don't see where antagonizing Iran will get them. If the goal is to rid Iran of extremist authoritarian leadership, then there are more meaningful ways than sanctions and nonsense threats.

The fact is that if Iran should continue enrichment of fuel and succed in developing a nuclear weapon, they will most likely going to want to secure and defend them, and they have sighned a contract for S 300 defence system which i think they might get their hands-on, kind of makes it a game equaliser, unless Isreal decides to do some thing about it before they get a nuclear boom.

S & F

Thanks for posting this thread.
I was not aware of just how complicated this situation really was.

Iran warns Russia over S-300 delivery

A senior Iranian lawmaker warns that any attempt by Moscow to back down on a deal to the deliver S-300 air defense system to Iran 'would run counter to Russia's interests'.

"The S-300 case, which is an old case, marks a new chapter in Russia's failure to keep its end of the deal," Iran's Parliament (Majlis) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chief Alaeddin Boroujerdi told reporters on Sunday.

Boroujerdi was referring to a contract signed between the Tehran government and the Kremlin in 2007.

"Given the extensive bilateral cooperation between the two countries, it would run counter to Russia's interests if negotiations fail to bear fruit in this matter," the influential lawmaker added.

Good grief. So now Iran is "warning" Russia? I think they are getting a little too big for their britches and Russia may take them down a notch. Wouldnt at all be surprised if the US and Russia have already worked out a deal to split the "proceeds" from an Iran attack.

Future News Headlines.

No S-300 Missiles for Iran.

Russia Agrees to Sell Iran Spare Parts to Support Current Weapon Systems.


Spare parts list

500 Solid Fuel Rocket Motors S-300 compatible.
500 Guidence Packages S-300 compible.
500 Explosive warheads S-300 compatible
2000 Carbon Fiber Rocket Fins S-300 compatible.


Watch for it.