Iran urges Russia to meet its contractual obligations in S-300 deal

10:05 GMT, November 12, 2009 defpro.com | The seesawing decision over the procurement deal between Iran and Russia for the purchase of S-300 air defence systems continues as Russia is still weighing whether to cancel the agreement or fulfil its contractual commitment for the delivery of the state-of-the-art surface-to-air missiles. Amidst the political turmoil, particularly concerning Iran’s controversial nuclear programme which keeps the international community occupied, the agreement that was concluded in December 2005 hangs in the balance.

In a new effort to obtain the Russian systems and enhance Iran’s air defence capabilities, Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Wednesday called on Russia to fulfil the contract and provocatively claimed that he doesn’t “think it is right for Russia to be seen in the world as a country which does not fulfil its contractual obligations," according to the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA).

Russia seems to be torn between its contractual obligations, international pressure, as well as the fear of sustaining significant losses by cancelling the contract. As Russian military analyst Konstantin Makiyenko explained earlier this year, a decision not to go ahead with the contract would cost Russia about $1 billion in lost profits, plus $300 to $400 million in fines and penalties.

The contract includes the purchase of the S-300V model of the air defence system. The latest version of the S-300 series is the S-300PMU2 Favorit, which has a range of up to 195 kilometres (about 120 miles) and can intercept aircraft and ballistic missiles at altitudes from 10 meters to 27 kilometres. The S-300 is considered one of the world's most effective all-altitude regional air defence systems, comparable in performance to the US-built MIM-104 Patriot system.

Russia has so far not acknowledged whether it will or will not carry out the delivery of the ordered air defence systems. At the time of repeated verbal blows between Israel and Iran in December 2008, Iranian media reported that Russia had begun delivering components of the S-300 missile system. However, these reports were immediately denied by Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation. Although “Russia is resolved to continue military and technical cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in strict compliance with existing laws and its international obligations”, as explained a spokesman of the service, Russia is still pondering about the further course of action in this particular matter.

It appears that Russia is waiting for whatever outcome of the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the international community regarding its nuclear programme. An international condemnation of Iran’s nuclear programme would create an unfortunate situation to provide the country with state-of-the-art weapon systems worth billions of dollars. As defpro.com reported in August 2009 (see: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/9241/) Israeli President Shimon Peres asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev not to carry out the delivery of the systems during a meeting in Sochi. Peres warned about a dangerous shift in the “delicate balance” of power in the entire region should Iran receive the S-300. Putting the matter into an international context, the Israeli President said that Israel has “clear proof that Russian weapons reach the hands of terrorist organisations, especially Hamas and Hezbollah, which receive them from Iran and Syria.”

It is unlikely that such valuable air defence systems would be subject to illicit arms trade involving Hamas or Hezbollah militia forces. Nevertheless, the call clearly moved in the direction of a full halt in military co-operation between Russia and Iran. Israel has an obvious interest in sustaining all its options to react to any potential threat coming from a nuclear armed Iran or to prevent such a development from being completed. This may also include a major air strike against Iranian installations.

Such a pre-emptive strike would be seriously hampered should Iran possess S-300 air defence systems, as outlined in a detailed study by Abdullah Toukan and Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, published in March 2009. defpro.com previously reported about the conclusions of this study (see: http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/312/), stating that in the event of an air strike against Iran, Israel would have to contend with approximately 20 to 30 per cent losses when encountering the S-300.

For the time being, both Iran’s nuclear programme as well as its defensive and offensive capabilities remain controversial but are generally not perceived as an imminent threat to Israel or the stability of the region. It remains a developing story that is being closely watched by all involved governments and, most certainly, by one or two intelligence services.


----
By Nicolas von Kospoth, Managing Editor