Putin Delivers Missile Air Defense Systems to Iran Days After 'Historic' Negotiations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frrrhfjwdv0

Days after the infamous nuclear agreement with Iran, Vladimir Putin has elected to lift the ban on delivering S-300 missile air defense systems to Iran:

The Russian president has repealed the ban prohibiting the delivery of S-300 missile air defense systems to Iran, according to the Kremlin’s press service. The ban was introduced by former President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.

“[The presidential] decree lifts the ban on transit through Russian territory, including airlift, and the export from the Russian Federation to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also the transfer to the Islamic Republic of Iran outside the territory of the Russian Federation, both by sea and by air, of air defense missile systems S-300,” says the information note accompanying the document, RIA Novosti reported.

The decree enters into force upon the president’s signature.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Israel has monitored this transaction for years with Netanyahu coming out strongly against Putin’s rumored sale of the S-300 systems to Syria nearly two years ago. Russia has been seen as Tehran’s strongest ally throughout the recent negotiations, prompting one analyst to warn:

Russia’s warming relationship with Iran and its wider policies toward the Middle East pose significant challenges to U.S. security interests, and Washington should tailor its approach to dealmaking and Russia diplomacy accordingly.

…Both countries also oppose any attempts to support democratic movements in the Middle East. Most notably, they continue to back the Assad regime in Syria and hold similar views on the Taliban in Afghanistan.