Why does Iran want to own Russia's S-300 as soon as possible?

(Baonghean.vn) - When Rostec Corporation CEO Sergei Chemezov reaffirmed that Russia plans to deliver the last four batches of S-300 to Iran by the end of this year, Tehran had reason to celebrate. According to Expert magazine, the Islamic republic wants to receive the state-of-the-art air defense system as soon as possible.

Illustration: Sputnik.

The delivery was previously scheduled to be completed in 2017, but both sides appear to have decided to speed up the schedule.

The S-300 system is extremely important for Iran. The publication said: “The SAM system acts as a shield to prevent anyone from attacking Tehran, be it Israel, NATO or Saudi Arabia.”

It is Saudi Arabia that worries Iran, not the other. “An attack by Israel or another Western power seemed inevitable in 2013, for example, but after the sanctions against Iran were lifted this winter, this scenario seems unlikely,” the channel explained.

Meanwhile, Iran's rivalry with arch-rival Saudi Arabia has escalated since world powers and Tehran signed the nuclear deal.

“The oil kingdom has shown its readiness to conduct a military campaign beyond its borders by launching an attack in Yemen. Therefore, Iran’s desire to receive the S-300 systems as soon as possible, before the end of the year, is understandable.”

The transfer plan also benefits Russia. Not only is a major arms deal completed, but for Moscow it also means the end of years of controversy over the deal.

Moscow and Tehran signed an $800 million deal to deliver five S-300 missile systems in 2007. In 2011, Iran sued Russia in the Geneva Arbitration Court after Moscow suspended the 2010 contract citing a UN Security Council resolution imposing an arms embargo on Tehran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on S-300 sales in April 2015, shortly after the P5+1 group of international negotiators and Iran reached a framework for a nuclear deal that would lift all economic sanctions on Tehran in exchange for a commitment that all nuclear research in the country would be for peaceful purposes.

Earlier this year, Russia delivered the first batch of S-300s to Iran.

Thao Linh

(According to Sputnik)