RUSSIAN MEDIA REPORTS indicate that Moscow has agreed to sell advanced S-300 air-defence missiles to Tehran.
ITAR-Tass, RIA-Novosti and Interfax quoted an anonymous source in the the Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service who claimed a contract for the air defense system was signed over two years ago. Russian officials have consistently denied claims that it delivered S-300 related components to Iran, but refused to clarify if an actual contract had been inked.
Nathan Hughes, an analyst at a Texas-based global intelligence company known as Stratfor, told The News that the S-300 would "greatly complicate the air defence picture" if Israel attempted to target Iranian nuclear sites.
 "It is not at all clear that Iran has actually taken delivery of the S-300, but hypothetically it would greatly complicate the air defence picture," explained Hughes. "The immense range of the S-300 is particularly problematic, because it makes it far more difficult to skirt around or otherwise avoid its areas of coverage to hit more vulnerable targets. The consequence would be a vastly expanded need for aircraft equipped for the suppression of enemy air defences and expanded preparations for combat search and rescue for downed pilots. Given the limits of the IAF (Israel Air Force) operating at this range, these increased requirements for SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) and CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) would meaningfully reduce the IAF's capacity to deliver munitions on actual nuclear programme targets," added Hughes.
Jeffrey White, a defence fellow at the Washington Institute who specialises in the military and security affairs of Iraq and the Levant, offered his assessment of how the IAF could best contend with the sophisticated air-defence system.
"I think the answer would be to attack a subset of targets," said White. "This would limit exposure of the attack force, and allow some assets for SEAD (suppression of enemy air defences) mission. Surprise would be important. The longer the Iranians have with the system the more proficient they will become with it. S-300 is not the only thing the Israelis have to be concerned with, of course. A lot also depends on how willing the Israelis are to accept losses. If the Israeli government really comes to see the threat as existential, I think it will be willing to risk significant losses and press the attack," stated the analyst.
An Israeli official conceeded that the S-300 "would make an air attack more difficult."
"There's no doubt that the S-300s would make an air attack more difficult. But there's an answer for every counter-measure, and as far as we're concerned, the sooner the Iranians get the new system, the more time we will have to inspect the deployments and tactical doctrines. There's a learning curve," said the official.
The Russian-manufactured S-300, which is is capable of simultaneously tracking up to 100 targets, has a range of 200 kilometres and can eliminate targets at altitudes of up to 27,000 metres.
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