Will U.S. F-35s Face Russian S-300s?

Conn Carroll / January 22, 2009

Russia and Iran seem intent on crashing President Barack Obama’s honeymoon. Last month the deputy chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy told Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency that Russia had agreed to deliver S-300 missile components to Iran. Heritage Senior Research Fellow Ariel Cohen breaks down the impact:

Allegations that Russia may be supplying Iran with S-300 missiles have circulated in the media since 2005. Such missiles could boost Iran’s defensive capabilities against possible airstrikes targeting its nuclear program. In the past, Moscow denied Iran’s statements that such deliveries had taken place.

The latest row over S-300 sales came after Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency cited a senior Iranian MP, Ismail Kosari, as saying that Russian and Iran had finalized the S-300 deal and Russia had started supplying the systems. This was predicted last fall in Washington by a visiting Russian official with good knowledge of the region. While Iran has neither confirmed nor denied the statement, military experts do not rule out the possibility of on-site S-300 assembly from components allegedly supplied to Iran.
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