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| Published: January 17, 2007 |
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ivanov confirmed Tuesday the sale of an air defense missile system to Iran, reports the Jerusalem Post.
The sale of the Tor-M1, which has met heavy disapproval from the US and other allies, represents a significant upgrade for Iranian air defense.
Analysts believe that the sale was made to beef up security around Iran's nuclear facilities as both Israel and the US have said that they would not rule out military strikes against Iran if Tehran did not give up its pursuit of nuclear technology.
Israel, for its part, issued a warning to Russia through a senior Israeli defense official who said, "We hope they understand that this is a threat that could come back to them as well."
Russia is also thought to have sold advanced weaponry to other enemies of Israel such as Syria. The Russian government has taken steps during the term of President Vladimir Putin to reposition the country as a major world power, edging closer in form to its Soviet predecessor.
Recently, Russia nationalized important natural gas concerns and was embroiled in a major dispute with the European Union over the temporary halt of natural gas supplies. |
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