Iran is seeking sophisticated new air-defense systems from Russia that Israeli officials believe will narrow the window for a potential strike on Tehran’s nuclear program, according to people familiar with the matter, APA reports citing Bloomberg.
The prospect of Iran getting the systems, the S-400s, would accelerate a decision on a possible attack, people in Israel and the US with knowledge of the discussions said.
Russia hasn’t said publicly if it will supply the weapons, but Moscow and Tehran have drawn closer since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. It would take less than two years for the S-400s to be operational.
“The longer you wait, the harder that becomes,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of a strike on Iran at a security conference in Tel Aviv last week. “We’ve waited very long. I can tell you that I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”
Such open threats — daily occurrences now in Israel — are a complex mix of intent and messaging aimed at Tehran and Washington although Israel bombed nuclear sites in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007. An open military conflict with Iran could trigger an unparalleled regional conflagration affecting global oil supplies.
Russia has offered Iran “unprecedented defense cooperation, including on missiles, electronics and air defense” and may provide Tehran with fighter jets, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last Friday.
The Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment, Netanyahu’s office declined to comment.
Concern has grown over Iran’s nuclear work since international monitors detected uranium enriched to 84% purity — just below the 90% needed for weapons. By the end of 2023, Iran will have enough uranium enriched to 60% to produce 10 bombs, according to a senior Israeli official and a former senior US official.
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