Iran Deploys New Russian Missile Defense System

“Our main priority is to protect Iran’s nuclear facilities under any circumstances”, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) air defense force told state TV.

The Fordow site, which is around 100km south of the capital Tehran, has not enriched any uranium since a nuclear deal between Iran and six global powers came into effect in January.

Last year, the Iranian government and six other nations, including the United States, agreed to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for lifting sanctions imposed through the UN.

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Iran had long wanted to deploy it to shield its nuclear infrastructure from the possibility of Israeli or USA strikes, and signed a deal with Russian Federation for five S300 systems worth $800 million in 2007.

Although Iran has already installed armed eyes and missile sites in upwards of 3700 points across its territory, the S-300 system makes the country’s airspace more costly for flying objects to penetrate.

Last year’s nuclear deal was widely celebrated in Iran and internationally, but some Iranian hardliners saw it as a capitulation to the US.

Pursuing that “line in the sand” over the following years, the US and its P5+1 partners – Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany – insisted that Fordow be shut down, laying it down as a condition in a proposal put to the Iranians in 2012.

Under an initial contract signed in 2007, Russian Federation was required to provide Iran with at least five S-300 defense system batteries.

“Continued opposition and hype on the S-300 or the Fordo site are examples of the viciousness of the enemy”, Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state TV.

Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, satellite image.

Following Moscow’s refusal to deliver the systems, Iran filed a complaint against the relevant Russian arms manufacturer with the International Court of Arbitration in Geneva.

Iranian Defence Minister said Thursday “If an American ship enters Iran’s maritime region, it will definitely get a warning”.

Last Tuesday, four Iranian military vessels intercepted a United States warship and were accused of harassing the warship.