Analyst: Iran likely to get air defenses

MOSCOW, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A Russian defense analyst says it's likely Moscow will now go through with the planned delivery of an advanced air defense system to Iran.

Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow, said Russian leaders may have been holding off on the delivery of an S-300 air defense system to Iran while relations between Moscow and the West were good, but that has changed, RIA Novosti reported Monday.

"In the current situation, when the U.S. and the West, in general, are stubbornly gearing toward a confrontation with Russia after the events in South Ossetia, the implementation of a lucrative contract on the deliveries of the S-300 to Iran looks like a logical step," Pukhov said.

The advanced version of the S-300 missile system has a range of more than 100 miles and reportedly can intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft at low or high altitudes, which would give Iran a strategic boost against possible air strikes from Israel or the United States, the news agency said.