Protecting the Iranian nuclear sites?
Wendy Sherman sat with John Kerry every day during the Iran talks. This is a short interview and a must watch. She has bought into believing Iran.
Meanwhile, there is Russia and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The missile deal:
Russia, Iran Ready to Sign S-300 Delivery Contract in Near Future
TEHRAN (FNA)- A contract between Moscow and Tehran on the delivery of Russian S-300 missile defense systems to Iran will be signed in the near future, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday.“The negotiations are continuing, the contract will be signed in the near future. All political decisions have been made, there are no obstacles there,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Sputnik news website.
In 2007, Iran signed a contract worth $800mln to buy five Russian S300 missile defense systems.
But the deal was scrapped in 2010 by the then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev under the pretext of the UN Security Council sanctions, although the UN embargoes did not include defensive military systems.
Iran filed a $4bln lawsuit against Russia in the international arbitration court in Geneva.
Moscow then struggled to have the lawsuit dropped, including by offering the Tor anti-aircraft systems as replacement, media reported in August, adding that the offer was rejected by Tehran.
Yet, some reports said the Antei-2500 could be a better solution. The system does not formally fall under the existing sanctions against Iran while still being useful for the Middle-Eastern country.
While the S-300 was developed for the use by missile defense forces, the Antei-2500 was specifically tailored for the needs of ground forces, which could also be an advantage for Iran, known for its large land force.
Later, Iran rejected the offer, stressing that it would not change its order.
The S-300 is a series of Russian long range surface-to-air missile systems produced by NPO Almaz, all based on the initial S-300P version. The S-300 system was developed to defend against aircraft and cruise missiles for the Soviet Air Defense Forces. Subsequent variations were developed to intercept ballistic missiles.
The S-300 system was first deployed by the Soviet Union in 1979, designed for the air defense of large industrial and administrative facilities, military bases, and control of airspace against enemy strike aircraft.
In the meantime, Iran designed and developed its own version of the S-300 missile shield, known as Bavar (Belief) 373. The Iranian version has superior features over the original Russian model as it enjoys increased mobility and reduced launch-preparation time.
In April, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced that Iran would receive the S-300 air defense systems from Russia in 2015.
“We will sign the contract for the delivery of S-300 air defense systems with the Russian side during an upcoming visit to Moscow in the current year,” Brigadier general Dehqan said prior to his departure to Moscow to take part in 2015 International Moscow Security Conference.
He noted that the Iranian Defense Ministry had studied the details of the S-300 contract and the air defense system would be delivered to Iran before the end of 2015.
“What is important is that since the beginning of talks about this contract, the Americans and the Zionist regime voiced their opposition to the sale of S-300 systems and called for a halt to the implementation of the contract,” Brigadier General Dehqan said.
In April, President Putin removed the ban on the delivery of the missile shield to Iran.
Following the announcement, Brigadier General Dehqan said “the decree came as an interpretation of the will of the two countries’ political leaders to develop and promote cooperation in all fields”.
Putin’s decision was announced hours after relevant reports said the Kremlin also plans to supply China with the advanced S-400 air defense system.
Putin said during a meeting with Iran’s Admiral Shamkhani that his decision to deliver the sophisticated S-300 air defense missile systems to Tehran set a role model at global class that every nation should remain loyal to its undertakings.
“The decision which was taken today bears this clear message that all countries are necessitated to remain committed to their undertakings,” Putin said at the meeting in Moscow.
In January, Tehran and Moscow signed an agreement to broaden their defensive cooperation and also resolve the problem with the delivery of Russia’s S300 missile defense systems to Iran.
The agreement was signed by General Dehqan and his visiting Russian counterpart General Sergei Shoigu in a meeting in Tehran in January.
The Iranian and Russian defense ministers agreed to resolve the existing problems which have prevented the delivery of Russia’s advanced air defense systems to Iran in recent years.
The two sides also agreed to broaden their defense cooperation and joint campaign against terrorism and extremism.
Russian build-up in Syria part of secret deal with Iran’s Quds Force leader
FNC: As the Pentagon warily eyes a Russian military build-up in Syria, Western intelligence sources tell Fox News that the escalated Russian presence began just days after a secret Moscow meeting in late July between Iran’s Quds Force commander — their chief exporter of terror — and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Fox News has learned Quds head Qassem Soleimani and Putin discussed such a joint military plan for Syria at that meeting, an encounter first reported by Fox News in early August.
“The Russians are no longer advising, but co-leading the war in Syria,” one intelligence official said.
The Quds Force is the international arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, involved in exporting terrorism to Iran’s proxies throughout the Middle East including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Intelligence sources told Fox News that — in addition to the previously reported arrival of nearly 50 Russian marines, 100 housing units and armored vehicles delivered by a stream of massive Antonov-124 Condor military transport aircraft and two Russian landing ships in Syria — the Russians have delivered aviation, intelligence and communications facilities to deploy a powerful offensive force.
Officials who have monitored the build-up say they’ve seen more than 1,000 Russian combatants — some of them from the same plainclothes Special Forces units who were sent to Crimea and Ukraine. Some of these Russian troops are logistical specialists and needed for security at the expanding Russian bases.
“Imagine how the Americans came to Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the same kind of build-up. They bring everything, they build everything they need,” the intelligence official said.
The shadowy Iranian commander Soleimani visited Moscow from July 24-26 — just 10 days after the nuclear deal was announced, despite a travel ban and U.N. Security Council resolutions barring him from leaving Iran. He met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Putin to discuss arms deals. But Fox News has since learned that the Russian and Iranian leaders were also discussing a new joint military plan to strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad, a plan that is now playing out with the insertion of Russian forces in Syria.
There are indications that Soleimani is not only involved in the Russian build-up in Syria, but may be leading the operation, though he has not been seen in Syria recently.
The Russians want to protect their interests in Syria. When the Syrian civil war began in 2011, the Russians had $4 billion in outstanding arms contracts with the Syrian government. The Russian Navy has maintained a base in Syria since the 1970s. This week, an image also surfaced purporting to show Nusra Front fighters standing by a Russian-supplied aircraft at a captured Syrian air base.
U.S. defense sources tell Fox News that most of Russia’s heavy military equipment has arrived by sea onboard Russian amphibious transport ships. Those ships began arriving in the Syrian port of Tartous in recent days. U.S. officials have confirmed a total of eight military cargo planes from Russia landed in the past few days outside Latakia, a port city on the Mediterranean, becoming an almost daily occurrence.
Onboard those vessels: Russian armored vehicles, tanks, helicopters, unmanned drones that can be armed and used for intelligence gathering. Western intelligence sources also confirm that the Russians have sent a mobile air traffic control system, communication/listening units, and pre-built housing units.
Fox News has learned that the Russian units include members of the Airborne Rifle brigade, the equivalent of U.S. Army Rangers.
The reason that the Iranians are increasingly concerned about Assad’s future is that they do not want a situation in which the Islamic State makes its way to Lebanon unchallenged, posing a threat to Iran’s proxy Hezbollah, according Western sources. This makes the Iranians natural allies of the Russians.
Iran, these sources say, wants Syria to serve as its buffer zone between ISIS and Hezbollah.
Few think Russia’s military build-up denotes an intent by Russia to join the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition. Despite downplaying the reports last week, the State Department and Pentagon are now so concerned by Russia’s presence that Secretary of State John Kerry called his Russian counterpart twice this week to express his misgivings about the escalating conflict.
