Region | Iran
Iran not getting Russian missiles
The US does not expect Iran to receive a Russian air defence system this year, a Pentagon official said on Tuesday of the shield that would make any strike on Tehran's nuclear sites more difficult.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:39 September 10, 2008
Washington: The US does not expect Iran to receive a Russian air defence system this year, a Pentagon official said on Tuesday of the shield that would make any strike on Tehran's nuclear sites more difficult.
Eric Edelman, the Penta-gon's undersecretary for policy, was responding to questions at a Senate hearing about reports that Iran would soon acquire an advanced Russian anti-aircraft missile system.
"To the best of my knowledge, I don't believe we think the missiles referred to ... are in fact slated for delivery by the end of this year," Edelman told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"But it is something that we are watching very closely," he said. "It is a serious capability that would be a concern to us as well as others in the region."
Western and Israeli experts have said that if Tehran acquired the S-300 missile batteries, it would make any strike by Israel or the US on Iran's nuclear sites tougher. The system is also known in the West as the SA-20.
The US and others accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons under cover of its nuclear energy programme. Tehran rejects the charge. The US and Israel have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the dispute.
Iran's Defence Minister Mustafa Mohammad Najar said last year Russia had agreed to deliver the missiles to Iran under a signed contract. But Iran's foreign ministry denied earlier this month that Iran had bought the system.
"Unfortunately, Russia has provided a lot of conventional military support to Iran. In general, I don't think that has been as helpful as ... some of their diplomatic efforts have been," Edelman said.
At the same hearing, Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried said that Russia had been a constructive partner in diplomatic efforts, unsuccessful so far, to pressure Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment programme.
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