Report: Russia Plans Air-Defense Sale to Iran
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on plans to send Iran one variant of an air-defense system, a move seen in Israel and the United States as a possible new means of protecting the Persian Gulf power's sensitive nuclear facilities against airstrikes, Kremlin insiders told Russia's Kommersant for a Wednesday report.
Iran has been pursuing a $4 billion legal challenge to Russia's assertion that U.N. Security Council sanctions prohibit Moscow from following through on a 6-year-old contract to supply the Middle Eastern nation with S-300 air defenses. The reported new sale would involve five units of the S-300VM system, a variant that reportedly does not fall under international penalties targeting the Persian Gulf power.
Israel and the United States have both threatened military strikes against Iran's nuclear program, which they suspect to be cover for development of nuclear-arms capabilities. Tehran maintains its atomic ambitions are strictly peaceful.
Putin separately approved construction of second reactor at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, Kommersant reported.
