Iran's Defense Minister: Expanding Cooperation with Russia Can Be Effective for Regional Stability

Hosseini Dehghan, the Defense Minister of the Islamic Republic, described the lifting of the ban on the delivery of the S-300 air defense system to Iran by Russia as a "reflection of the political will of the leaders of the two countries" for expanding cooperation in all fields. According to him, this type of cooperation can be effective in establishing stability and security in the region. Concurrently with the visit of Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, to Russia on Monday, April 24, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, signed an order lifting the ban on the delivery of the S-300 air defense system to Iran from Russian territory or through Russian air and maritime space. According to the state news agency IRNA, Mr. Shamkhani implied that the reason for the issuance of this order by the Russian President was the "emergence of new conditions" following the "stabilizing policies of the Islamic Republic at the regional and international levels." Putin's new decision to remove obstacles to the delivery of the S-300 to Iran comes after Russia, along with several other global powers, recently reached an agreement with Iran regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear dispute. In 2007, Moscow committed to providing the S-300 missile defense system to the Islamic Republic under an $800 million contract. However, this contract was never executed due to the adoption of a UN resolution imposing sanctions on Iran in 2010, which prohibited the sale or transfer of missiles and missile systems to Iran, prompting Iran to demand $4 billion in compensation from Moscow. The S-300 air defense missile can target aircraft at an altitude of 30 kilometers and at a distance of 150 kilometers, with the capability of tracking 100 targets simultaneously. Iran's access to this system could alter the equations related to a potential airstrike by Israel on Iran's nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, hours after the news of the Russian President's order was published, the United States and Israel expressed their opposition to lifting the ban on delivering this missile to Iran. According to the state news agency IRNA, Hosseini Dehghan, the Iranian Defense Minister, also referred to the recent signing of an "agreement" between the defense ministries of Iran and Russia, stating that "extraterritorial threats and the expansion of terrorist activities by Takfiri groups" have increased the necessity for expanding cooperation between the two countries. During the visit of Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defense Minister, to Iran in January 2015, the defense ministers of the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding. According to IRNA, combating various forms of terrorism, separatism, and extremism, conducting joint exercises, military vessels visiting each other's ports, and fighting piracy in the Caspian Sea and international waters were among the provisions of this memorandum. In this context, Russia offered other missiles to Iran instead of the S-300.