Israeli MP says S-300 missiles may force airstrike on Iran
Updated: Thursday, September 17, 2009
Photographer: US Defense Department Photo
missiles
11:00GMT—7:00AM/EST
Washington, 17 September (WashingtonTV)—An Israeli lawmaker said in remarks published on Thursday that the delivery of Russia’s advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran would accelerate a possible Israeli decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“I hope Moscow understands that the deliveries will at least speed up such events, if not trigger them,” Zeev Elkin told the Russian daily, Kommersant, according to the Interfax news agency.
Israel and the United States have pressed Russia to forgo delivering the advanced missile system to Tehran, which would greatly increase Iran’s defense capabilities against a possible airstrike on its nuclear sites.
Elkin said that the missiles would “substantially complicate or make impossible the peaceful settlement of the (Iranian nuclear) program and may force Israel to act sooner than it would under current circumstances,” Interfax reports.
Russia insists that it only provides its partners with non-destabilizing weapons, which comply with its international commitments.
Elkin asserted that Moscow did not fully realize the speed at which Tehran’s nuclear program was moving forward.
“We are approaching the point of no return, after which it will be impossible to stop Tehran’s development of a nuclear bomb,” he told the daily, adding: “We have several months left to make a decision.”
Iran’s Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic would make an announcement on the S-300 system “in time”, reports the Fars news agency.
Iran, which maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, has dismissed threats of a military strike on its nuclear facilities.
Sources: Interfax news agency, Fars news agency
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