A Russian-made advanced air defence system has been made operational by the Iranian authorities, state television reported today in a move that may antagonise already belligerent relations with the United States.
AFP reported that Iran’s advanced S-300 air defence system, produced by Russia and delivered to the Iranian regime following the July 2015 nuclear deal after years of delay, is now operational. The S-300 is one of Russia’s most advanced anti-air weapons, and is viewed as one of the world’s most potent surface-to-air missile systems.
Iran had been trying to acquire the system for years to ward off repeated threats by Israel to bomb its nuclear facilities, but Russia had held off delivery in line with UN sanctions imposed over the nuclear programme.
“The S-300 air defence system has been tested…in the presence of government and military officials,” state television said.
The report said that the test at a desert base had seen several targets, including a ballistic missile and a drone, successfully intercepted.
Air defence commander, Farzad Esmaili, said that a domestically manufactured air defence system dubbed Bavar 373 which was “more advanced than the S-300” would be tested very soon.
“The S-300 is a system that is deadly for our enemies and which makes our skies more secure,” he said.
Iran’s activation of the defence system comes amid mounting tensions with the new US administration of President Donald Trump, who imposed sanctions after Iran tested a medium-range ballistic missile in January.
The deal to buy the S-300 system was originally signed in 2007 but Russia suspended it in 2010 citing a UN ban on arms sales to Iran. It was revived after the nuclear deal between Iran and major powers went into effect in January last year.
In August, state television aired footage of the system being installed around the Fordo nuclear site in a mountain near Qom, south of the capital.