27 Nov 2024
Iran has deployed its Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile system around an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordow, 125 km southwest of Tehran, Iranian state television has reported. Commenting on the deployment, Iranian experts have suggested that this is more evidence about the depth of the Russian-Iranian strategic partnership.

Speaking tostate television onSunday, Farzad Esmaili, the commander ofIran's Air Defense Force, explained that "our main priority is toprotect Iran's nuclear facilities underany circumstances." While the commander did not clarify whether the S-300s atFordow were already operational, Esmaili did say that "today, Iranian skies are amongthe most secure inthe Middle East." The commander's remarks were accompanied bystate television footage showing the recently purchased S-300 missile systems being transported and deployed inthe area aroundFordow.

Commenting onthe deployment, Sajjad Tayeri, an expert inIranian-Russian relations, suggested that the news serves asanother indication that cooperation betweenRussia and Iran has reached a strategic stage. Speaking toSputnik Persian, Tayeri recalled that the supply ofthe S-300 had long been seen asa problem area inthe deepening ofRussian-Iranian relations, withRussia promising tosupply Tehran withfive S-300 systems in2007, beforesuspending the contract in2010, citing a UN Security Council resolution which placed an arms embargo onTehran.

In April 2015, shortly afterIran and the P5+1 group ofinternational negotiators reached an agreement toremove all sanctions againstTehran inexchange forthe country's pledge onthe peaceful purposes ofits nuclear program, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the S-300 delivery ban. The first batch ofS-300s was delivered tothe country earlier this year. "Today," Tayeri noted, "we see that afterthe signing ofthe [nuclear deal], when various countries' trust inIran has been restored, the long-standing friendship which has always existed betweenRussia and Iran has strengthened even more." The analyst suggested that Moscow and Tehran's cooperation inthe anti-terrorist operation inSyria, alongwith the recent negotiations onthe legal status ofthe Caspian Sea, have only further increased the level ofmutual trust and collaboration betweenthe two countries. "The level ofcooperation betweenour countries is growing, and is becoming more effective."

Asked tocomment onthe likely implications ofthe deployment ofS-300 aroundFordow, the analyst pointed toSunday's statement byIranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who emphasized that the S-300 is a purely defensive system, not an offensive one. "Iran," Tayeri added, "has never created any plans foraggression or invasion ofother countries; it does not have such plans and never will." According tothe expert, "the Russian S-300 and its Iranian made analogs are intended forthe defense ofour territory ofkey industrial objects." Noting that Tehran still has many reasons not totrust Washington, including inits fulfilment ofits side ofIranian nuclear agreement, the analyst emphasized that "as far ascooperation betweenRussia and Iran is concerned, it has, onthe contrary, been greatly strengthened and is already atthe strategic level. It's forthis reason that the Russian S-300 systems were deployed aroundour country' nuclear and strategic military facilities."

Fordow's underground uranium enrichment facility, revealed tothe world in2009, has not engaged inuranium enrichment sinceJanuary 2016, when the Iranian nuclear deal's provisions came intoeffect. The facility is built about90 meters undera mountain. Iranian officials have sincesaid that the decision tobuild the facility deep underground ina fortified position was made due torepeated threats byIsrael toattack such facilities. Tel Aviv carried outa surprise airstrike onan Iraqi nuclear reactor in1981. Iran showcased its own new air defense system, the Bavar-373, ata military expo last week. The system's development has prompted speculation that it was designed asIran's answer tothe S-300.

By Sputnik
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