Friday, April 17, 2015

Is The Israeli Miltiary Option Against Iran Off The Table Because Of Russian S-300 Missiles?

Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems move along a central street during a rehearsal for a military parade in Moscow, May 4, 2009. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

Noga Tarnopolsky, Reuters: Would a new Russian missile system make Israeli airstrikes on Iran impossible?

Israeli responses to the news that Russia would lift a voluntary ban on the sale of weapons to Iran and provide state-of-the-art air defense systems to the Islamic Republic have ranged from concern to seeming panic.

Some experts fear that the S-300 missiles could take away Israel’s (or even the United States’) ability to easily strike nuclear targets in Iran, while Israeli officials expressed their concern that the missiles could make their way to Hezbollah, the militant Shi’ite faction that controls Southern Lebanon, on Israel’s northern border.

Others pondered what Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes to get from the announcement.

WNU Editor: I have always been skeptical of Israeli military designs and plans to attack Iran's nuclear infrastructure. There are too many targets, they are too far away, there is no support from Washington for such a plan .... and have in fact hinted in the past that they would even intercept an Israeli attack force .... Report: Obama Threatened to Shoot Down IAF Iran Strike (Arutz Sheva). Russia's S-300 missiles will just be another obstacle for Israeli military planners .... but the bigger obstacle has always been political .... both within Israel and outside.

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