No Reason To Stall Iran Missiles Deal, Moscow Says

[Purveyor]

Source: Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia sees no reason to stall on the sale of its S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Iran, the Kremlin's powerful Security Council said Sunday, hours before the premier of Iran's adversary Israel was due to visit Moscow.

The possible sale of Russian air defense hardware to the Islamic Republic is a major irritant for both Israel and close ally the United States. Both have pressed Moscow not to go ahead with a deal that may help protect Iran's nuclear facilities from potential air strikes.

"There is a signed contract (to supply S-300 missiles) which we must implement, but deliveries have not started yet," Vladimir Nazarov, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council secretary, told Interfax news agency in an interview.

"This deal is not restricted by any international sanctions, because the talk is about deliveries of an exclusively defensive weapon," he said.

Nazarov also said a military strike on Iran would be a big mistake and that the problems linked to Iran's nuclear program must be resolved only by diplomatic means.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61D1KC20100214

[SpiralHawk]

1. Ollie North (R) beat the Ruskis out by years

He gave the Evil Empire of Iran our US Hawk missiles long ago.
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm

[Duckhunter935]

5. Modified them to make them airlaunched

actually worked, do not know

[Mnpaul]

6. And let us not forget the TOW Missles

sold to Iran through Israel

August 20, 1985. 96 TOW anti-tank missiles
September 14, 1985. 408 more TOWs
November 24, 1985. 18 Hawk anti-aircraft missiles
February 17, 1986. 500 TOWs
February 27, 1986. 500 TOWs
May 24, 1986. 508 TOWs, 240 Hawk spare parts
August 4, 1986. More Hawk spares
October 28, 1986. 500 TOWs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair

[Hugabear]

2. Russia selling arms to Iran = bad. US selling weapons to Israel = good.

I've never understood the double standard that seems to exist here. The US is one of (if not THE) largest arms dealers in the world, and Israel is one of our biggest customers. Yet you hardly ever see stories in the media whenever the US completes a major arms shipment to Israel or any other country. Yet anytime Russia or China sells arms to someone, it's somehow a huge news story.

[BunkerHill24]

4. That's because our livelihood depends on Arms Shipments to the rest of the world

So, why speak of it???

[Wizard777]

3. I guess we'll have to HOPE that in their nuclear experiments Iran doesn't accidentally nuke themselv...

:smoke: That's our story and we're sticking to it. They accidentally nuked themselves. Such are the dangers of third world nuclear experimentations.


I think that's some "Hopey Changey" stuff even Palin could support.

[Kurska]

7. Israel warned that if this sale went through they would develop and then distribute

a countermeasure to the entire s-300 system. Considering they managed to circumvent the system in their strike of Syria's reactor, I am surprised Russia wouldn't take that threat seriously.

[TheLastMohican]

8. Considering that Israel was all over involved in Georgia assault on the Olympic morning

and actually supplied a lot of stuff to Georgians, Russia is very well aware of that.
And this can be a "back at you" gesture, too.