Russia Rejects Extending Iran Arms Embargo, Defying U.S.

By Henry Meyer

Russia, seeing prospects for multi-billion dollar deals, ruled out extending a United Nations-approved arms embargo on Iran that expires in October next year, despite U.S. warnings that lifting the restrictions will jeopardize global security.

“We’re not ready to do the bidding of our American colleagues,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency in an interview published Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo earlier this year warned that allowing renewed weapons sales to Iran will mean the country will be “unleashed to create new global turmoil.”

The removal of the UN arms embargo within five years was part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which the U.S. withdrew from last year. President Donald Trump’s administration has pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran in a bid to force the Islamic Republic back to the negotiating table. Russia, China and European powers have tried unsuccessfully to salvage the landmark accord curbing Iran’s nuclear activities, though formally it’s still in existence.

Ending the ban on military sales “is important for Russia as it will bring it closer to Iran and opens up the world’s last big untapped weapons markets,” said Ruslan Pukhov, head of the Center of Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a defense-industry consultancy in Moscow. According to a recent report published by the think-tank, Iran could become a major customer for Russian hardware, including fighter jets, submarines and air-defense systems.

The arms embargo bars Iran from buying offensive weapons. Russia has sold its S-300 anti-aircraft system to Iran after ending a self-imposed moratorium that it put in place at Israel’s request.

Iran wants to purchase weapons “it has largely been unable to acquire for decades” when the embargo expires, an assessment released by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said in November.

Iran is already targeting military supplies, primarily from Russia but also from China, the Pentagon report found. Iran’s potential acquisitions include Russian Su-30 fighters, Yak-130 trainers and T-90 tanks. Iran has also shown interest in buying the S-400 air-defense system and Bastion coastal defense system from Russia, it said.

Photo: Wikicommons

Iran Launches 'Cruise Missile Capable' Submarine

Iran on Sunday launched a new locally-made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country's latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the US.

The launch ceremony, led by President Hassan Rouhani, took place in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

"Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully self-reliant on land, air and sea," Rouhani said.

"Our defensive power is meant to defend our interests and we have never sought to attack any country," he added.

Named the Fateh (Farsi for 'Conqueror'), Fars news agency said the new submarine is Iran's first in the semi-heavy category, filling a gap between the light Ghadir class and the heavy Kilo class submarines that the country possesses.

Fars said the near 600-tonne underwater vessel is equipped with torpedoes and naval mines in addition to cruise missiles, and can operate more than 200 metres below sea level for up to 35 days.

The US withdrew from a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and re-imposed biting unilateral sanctions later last year.  

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on February 7 unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), according to the elite unit's official media agency Sepah News.

The surface-to-surface missile—called Dezful—is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700 kilometres, aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said.

Rouhani said on Sunday that "pressure by enemies, the (Iran-Iraq) war and sanctions" were incentives for Tehran to be self-reliant in its defense industry.

"Maybe we would not have this motivation to industrialize our defense sector," he said, if Iran could just buy the weaponry it needed.

Iran's top military brass and cabinet ministers attended the ceremony.

Photo Credit: IRNA

Iran Revolutionary Guards Unveil 'New Ballistic Missile'

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometres, their official news agency Sepah News reported.

The move was the latest show of military might by the country as it celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

The surface-to-surface missile—called Dezful—is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700 kilometers (435 miles), aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said.

The new weapon was revealed after Iran on Saturday said it had successfully tested a new cruise missile named Hoveizeh with a range of 1,350 kilometers.

The unveiling ceremony Thursday was carried out by Revolutionary Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari and Hajizadeh at an "underground ballistic missile production facility", the report said.

The facility's location was not specified and pictures published by Sepah News showed only the two commanders in a room examining the missile.

"Displaying this missile production facility deep underground is an answer to Westerners ... who think they can stop us from reaching our goals through sanctions and threats," Jafari was reported as saying.

"Europeans talk of limiting our defensive capability while they have the audacity (to allow) their offensive power be used to attack innocent people all over the world," he added.

Hajizadeh said the new missile had a "destructive power" twice that of the Zolfaghar version, which Iran used for the first time in October to strike a jihadist base in Syria. 

Iran has voluntarily limited the range of its missiles to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), but that is still enough to hit its arch-enemy Israel and US bases in the Middle East.

Tehran reined in most of its nuclear program under a landmark 2015 deal with major powers but has kept up development of its ballistic missile technology.

President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear accord in May and reimposed sanctions on Iran, citing the missile program among its reasons. 

Iran and the other signatories have stuck by the 2015 agreement, although some European governments have demanded an addition to address Tehran's ballistic missile program and its intervention in regional conflicts.

UN Security Council Resolution 2231—adopted just after the nuclear deal—calls on Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons".

Tehran insists that its missile development program is "purely defensive" and compliant with the resolution.

Photo Credit: IRNA

US Calls for EU Sanctions on Iranian Ballistic Program

The United States urged the European Union on Monday to apply sanctions targeting Iran's ballistic missile program, calling it a "grave and escalating threat."

Over the weekend, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo charged that Iran tested a medium-range missile capable of carrying multiple warheads and striking parts of Europe and the entire Middle East.

He said the test violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the Iran nuclear deal signed by world powers with the Islamic republic.

"The Iranian government claims that its missile testing is purely defensive in nature. It's not defensive," Washington's Iran special envoy Brian Hook told reporters aboard Pompeo's plane as he traveled to Brussels for a NATO meeting.

"We would like to see the European Union move sanctions that target Iran's missile program."

Hook said President Donald Trump's campaign of "maximum pressure" on Tehran since withdrawing from the Iran  nuclear deal "can be effective if more nations can join us in those (sanctions)."

"It is a grave and escalating threat, and nations around the world, not just Europe, need to do everything they can to be targeting Iran's missile program," he added.

Hook said "progress" was being made on getting NATO allies to consider a proposal to target individuals and entities that play key roles in Iran's missile program.

The United States decided in May to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran.

EU countries have denounced the move and are working to preserve the nuclear deal, even though they have also criticized Iranian positions on other matters.

Photo Credit: IRNA

Iran Unveils First Domestic Fighter Jet

Iran unveiled its first domestic fighter jet on Tuesday, with President Hassan Rouhani insisting that Tehran's military strength was only designed to deter enemies and create "lasting peace".

Images on state television showed Rouhani sitting in the cockpit of the new "Kowsar" fourth-generation fighter at the National Defence Industry exhibition in Tehran.

State media said it had "advanced avionics" and multi-purpose radar, and that it was "100-percent indigenously made" for the first time.

Footage of the Kowsar's test flights was circulated by various official media.

But live footage of the plane taxiing along a runway at the defense show was cut before it could take off. 

"When I speak of our readiness to defend, it means we seek lasting peace. If we lack readiness, we welcome war," Rouhani said in a televised speech shortly after.

"Some think when we increase our military power, this means we seek war. (But) this is peace-seeking because we don't want war to happen," he added.

"If we don't have a deterrent... it gives a green light for others to enter this country."

The plane was first publicly announced on Saturday by Defense Minister Amir Hatami, who had said it would be unveiled on Wednesday.

He gave few details of the project, focusing instead on Iran's efforts to upgrade its missile defenses.

Hatami said the defence programme was motivated by memories of the missile attacks Iran suffered during its eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, and by repeated threats from Israel and the United States that "all options are on the table" in dealing with the Islamic republic.

"We have learned in the (Iran-Iraq) war that we cannot rely on anyone but ourselves," he said in a televised interview.

The US has sold hundreds of billions of dollars of weapons to Iran's regional rivals, but has demanded that Tehran curb its defense programs, and is in the process of reimposing crippling sanctions in a bid to force its capitulation.

Rouhani said Iran must show restraint as well as deterrence, in an apparent swipe at his hardline opponents who seek to provoke the US with aggressive slogans. 

"With a couple of sentences one can start a fight. With a couple of military moves one can enter confrontation. But then it will be costly," he said. 

"The skill is to protect the country with minimum cost," he said

That mirrored a line from the defence minister, who said on Saturday: "Our resources are limited and we are committed to establishing security at a minimum cost."

Following the withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal in May, Iran has avoided an aggressive response and sought to maintain its good will with other international partners who oppose Washington's move.

Rouhani said US pressure was also a spur to action.

"Why does America impose economic sanctions on us? Why does it impose them on Turkey? Why does it drag China into an economic war? Because it feels each one of them has a weak point. We must fix our weak points."

Photo Credit: IRNA