Latest news with #S-300s
United News of India
21-07-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Iran claims to have replaced most air defence systems damaged during Israel conflict
Tehran, July 21 (UNI) Iran has reportedly managed to replace its air defence systems, majority of which were damaged or completely destroyed during its 12-day war with Israel, according to Iran International. According Mahmoud Mousavi, the army's deputy of operations, "Some of our air defences were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure.' During the conflict, the IDF almost completely took over Iranian airspace, firing missiles at critical infrastructure. In retaliation, Iran went on to fire drones and missiles throughout Israel. 'We were able to cover the skies using existing and new systems, securing the airspace of our dear Iran,' he said. 'The enemy, despite its desperate efforts, failed to achieve its goals.' Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, also echoed that message. 'Air defence proved on the front lines of protecting Iran's skies that it will resist any level of threat,' he said. Though Iran claims to have destroyed several Israeli fighter jets, it has yet to release any actual footage to back its claims. IDF officials say that 120 air defence systems were destroyed or disabled since the first wave of attacks—around a third of Iran's pre-war total. Long-range systems, including Russian-supplied S-300s and Iran's Bavar-373 batteries, were among those targeted. 'Iran relied on a fragmented mix of Russian S-300s, Chinese batteries, and local Bavar-373 systems – none of which were adequately integrated… The air defence radar was Russian and Chinese made, which have known issues of target discrimination, without any integration among bases and military units,' wrote the Global Defence Corp. Much of Tehran's military hardware, including its tanks, armoured vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, and missile systems are outdated, as most of it is from the Cold War era. Due to its lack of sophisticated hardware, and Israel having plenty of it, Tel Aviv's aircraft encountered little in the way of resistance, enabling it to target and destroy critical Iranian military infrastructure. UNI ANV SSP
CNBC
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
Israel considering military strike on Iran, sources say
Israel is considering taking military action against Iran — most likely without U.S. support — in the coming days, even as President Donald Trump is in advanced discussions with Tehran about a diplomatic deal to curtail its nuclear program, according to five people with knowledge of the situation. Israel has become more serious about a unilateral strike on Iran as the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear closer to a preliminary or framework agreement that includes provisions about uranium enrichment that Israel views as unacceptable. A unilateral strike or action by Israel against Iran would be a dramatic break with the Trump administration, which has argued against such a step. The renewed threat of an Israeli strike comes as the Trump administration is awaiting a response from Iran on a proposed framework of a nuclear deal, and as the president has publicly said Tehran has become more hardline in its negotiations. The notion of a new front in a simmering conflict has prompted the Trump administration to order all embassies within striking distance of Iranian missiles, aircraft and other assets (including missions in the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Eastern Europe) to send cables with assessments about danger and about measures to mitigate risks to Americans and U.S. infrastructure, according to two sources familiar. U.S. and other officials are on alert awaiting the possibility of Israel striking Iran, the officials said. The White House has not briefed senior lawmakers on the issue, according to that aide and a U.S. official. One major concern is Iran retaliating against U.S. personnel or assets in the region for any action. Israel, which relies on intelligence or other direct and logistical assistance from the U.S., may be in a position to take unilateral action against Tehran, the source familiar said. The sources familiar and officials were not aware of any planned U.S. involvement in the possible action. The U.S. could support with aerial re-fueling or intelligence sharing rather than kinetic support but the sources and officials were not aware of plans for that either at this point. U.S. officials have announced that the voluntary departure of non-essential employees from the region. And the Pentagon announced the voluntary departure of military families from locations all across the U.S. Central Command area of operations. CENTCOM Commander General Erik Kurilla was due to testify on the Hill on Thursday, but the hearing was postponed late Wednesday without explanation. A source familiar said Kurilla had to focus on this unfolding situation. Another possible factor: Iran is rebuilding its strategic air defenses, and manned strikes will soon be exponentially more dangerous for Israeli pilots. In October, Israel damaged nearly every one of Iran's strategic air defense systems (mainly S-300s) but much of the damage was to the radars or other parts that can be rebuilt. It's possible Israel's window for manned strikes, without being threatened by Iran's coordinated strategic air defenses, is closing. While Israel would most likely prefer U.S. military and intelligence support for strikes — especially against Iranian nuclear facilities — they showed in October that they can do a lot alone. Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the evacuation of non-essential staff at the U.S. embassy in Iraq will send a message to Tehran that Trump will not necessarily hold Israel back from launching a threatened attack on Iran. "It's about trying to get Iran to respect the president's wishes," Knights said. Iran has failed to meet a two-month deadline set by Trump to reach an agreement on the country's nuclear activities, and the president is frustrated, he said. Both Knights and a source with knowledge of the matter said it was unclear if Israel would undertake a limited military strike now or wait until nuclear negotiations played out further. Trump has expressed growing frustration over Iran's stance at recent indirect talks, portraying Tehran as inflexible and slow moving. "They're just asking for things that you can't do. They don't want to give up what they have to give up," Trump told reporters on Monday. "They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment."
NBC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Israel considering military strike on Iran, sources say
Israel is considering taking military action against Iran — most likely without U.S. support — in the coming days, even as President Donald Trump is in advanced discussions with Tehran about a diplomatic deal to curtail its nuclear program, according to five people with knowledge of the situation. Israel has become more serious about a unilateral strike on Iran as the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear closer to a preliminary or framework agreement that includes provisions about uranium enrichment that Israel views as unacceptable. A unilateral strike or action by Israel against Iran would be a dramatic break with the Trump administration, which has argued against such a step. The renewed threat of an Israeli strike comes as the Trump administration is awaiting a response from Iran on a proposed framework of a nuclear deal, and as the president has publicly said Tehran has become more hardline in its negotiations. The notion of a new front in a simmering conflict has prompted the Trump administration to order all embassies within striking distance of Iranian missiles, aircraft and other assets (including missions in the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Eastern Europe) to send cables with assessments about danger and about measures to mitigate risks to Americans and U.S. infrastructure, according to two sources familiar. U.S. and other officials are on alert awaiting the possibility of Israel striking Iran, the officials said. The White House has not briefed senior lawmakers on the issue, according to that aide and a U.S. official. One major concern is Iran retaliating against U.S. personnel or assets in the region for any action. Israel, which relies on intelligence or other direct and logistical assistance from the U.S., may be in a position to take unilateral action against Tehran, the source familiar said. The sources familiar and officials were not aware of any planned U.S. involvement in the possible action. The U.S. could support with aerial re-fueling or intelligence sharing rather than kinetic support but the sources and officials were not aware of plans for that either at this point. U.S. officials have announced that the voluntary departure of non-essential employees from the region. And the Pentagon announced the voluntary departure of military families from locations all across the U.S. Central Command area of operations. CENTCOM Commander General Erik Kurilla was due to testify on the Hill on Thursday, but the hearing was postponed late Wednesday without explanation. A source familiar said Kurilla had to focus on this unfolding situation. Another possible factor: Iran is rebuilding its strategic air defenses, and manned strikes will soon be exponentially more dangerous for Israeli pilots. In October, Israel damaged nearly every one of Iran's strategic air defense systems (mainly S-300s) but much of the damage was to the radars or other parts that can be rebuilt. It's possible Israel's window for manned strikes, without being threatened by Iran's coordinated strategic air defenses, is closing. While Israel would most likely prefer U.S. military and intelligence support for strikes — especially against Iranian nuclear facilities — they showed in October that they can do a lot alone. Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the evacuation of non-essential staff at the U.S. embassy in Iraq will send a message to Tehran that Trump will not necessarily hold Israel back from launching a threatened attack on Iran. 'It's about trying to get Iran to respect the president's wishes,' Knights said. Iran has failed to meet a two-month deadline set by Trump to reach an agreement on the country's nuclear activities, and the president is frustrated, he said. Both Knights and a source with knowledge of the matter said it was unclear if Israel would undertake a limited military strike now or wait until nuclear negotiations played out further. Trump has expressed growing frustration over Iran's stance at recent indirect talks, portraying Tehran as inflexible and slow moving. 'They're just asking for things that you can't do. They don't want to give up what they have to give up,' Trump told reporters on Monday. 'They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment.'
The National
06-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Can Turkey's 'Steel Dome' deter Israel in Syria?
Unconfirmed news reports this week claim Israel's strikes on Syria's Tiyas airbase are an attempt to stop Turkey deploying air-defence systems to the site, to protect Syrian airspace. These systems are part of what Turkey calls its "Steel Dome" project, a layered air-defence system currently under development. There has been widespread speculation that Ankara and Damascus, which have re-established ties since the fall of Bashar Al Assad in December, are expanding military co-operation. Tiyas, better known as T4, was the largest airbase in Syria under the Assad regime and was frequently bombed by the Israelis, who claimed Iran was using the site to house drone operations and advisers co-ordinating weapons smuggling for Iran-backed groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah. According to analysis by the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a US think tank, Turkey could deploy its indigenous Hisar-O and Hisar-U medium-range air-defence systems, as well as the long-range Siper air-defence system, which can reportedly target enemy aircraft up to 200 kilometres away. Such a deployment could complicate continuing Israeli strikes against what it says are significant Assad-era arms stockpiles that could one day pose a strategic threat. Israel has hit suspected arms depots and bases in Syria hundreds of times since December. Like Israel, Nato member Turkey has an advanced home-grown defence industry and is a rising exporter of modern systems – a stark contrast to the ageing and mostly obsolete weapons of the former Syrian regime. Syria once boasted a dense air-defence network of Soviet (and later Russian) radar and missiles that western defence planners worried could disrupt a proposed 'no-fly zone' to halt Assad regime air attacks on civilian areas in the early years of the civil war that broke out in 2011. The no-fly zone never materialised, although there was a massive Nato strike on the Syrian regime in April 2018. Syria's air-defence network was instead rapidly degraded by the civil war and almost entirely destroyed in repeated Israeli raids, mostly aimed at intercepting Iranian arms supplies. Even augmented by powerful Russian-supplied S-300 systems, Syria's air-defence protection proved limited because the S-300s could not be used against the Israelis without Moscow's permission – something that is rumoured to have happened only once, in 2016. Israel proved its ability to seriously damage S-300s in Iran in air strikes in October, suggesting the system is highly vulnerable to Israeli weapons, which were never used against it in Syria. Russia pulled the S-300s out of Syria in 2022 to support its war in Ukraine. Turkey has far more modern systems, which could make the Israelis wary of conducting air operations, such as the Koral mobile electronic warfare system. According to Turkish analyst Ali Baker, the system proved effective in conflicts such as the Azerbaijan-Armenia war in 2020 and Turkey's deadly intervention against Syria the same year, by jamming enemy communications and radar, leaving ground forces at the mercy of a massed drone attack. Israel also possesses powerful electronic warfare capabilities and has pioneered tactics in battle, such as cyber-attacking Syria's air-defence network as long ago as 2007. With an eye on major air operations over Iran, Israel recently upgraded its fleet of F-16Is with a series of electronic warfare and early-warning additions and missile countermeasures. Israeli also possesses advanced pods that can be integrated on to numerous aircraft in its inventory, such as the F-15I and F-16I, including the Scorpius pod, which can rapidly detect and jam enemy radar signals using its Active Electronically Scanned Array (Aesa) radar. Aesa radar provide far more agility than conventional radar beams and can blast targeted pulses of energy to thwart enemy systems. They have become increasingly vital in modern warfare, being difficult to detect due to rapid frequency changing and possessing significant jamming power, and the ability to identify and track many targets at once. Despite rumoured Turkish deployments, there has been no mention of Ankara's lorry-mounted ALP-300G radar system, which entered production in 2024 and also comes with Aesa capability. Like the Koral, the ALP-300G is a mobile system that can be rapidly set up and moved, complicating Israeli targeting efforts. Paired with Turkey's Siper air-defence system, the ALP-300G could present the most serious threat to the Israeli air force for many decades. According to Turkish defence firms Aselsan and Roketsan, a Siper battery can fire 20 missiles in an engagement, simultaneously targeting 10 enemy aircraft. That could provide the system with the kind of missile saturation tactics used by Syria to shoot down an Israeli F-16I in 2018, but with more capable missiles. Together, these systems form part of Turkey's multi-layered Steel Dome, which is still in development, said to be inspired by Israel's own Iron Dome concept – although the Iron Dome covers only short-range threats. To counter such systems, Israel also has stealth aircraft, such as the F-35I that poses a major threat to Russian-designed systems, with many experts claiming it could perform well against the S-400, a capable system purchased by Turkey in 2017 and delivered in 2019. Some claim the system could be sent to Syria. Israel has also pioneered the use of air-launched ballistic missiles to defeat advanced systems like the S-300, taking advantage of the powerful thrust of the weapons combined with the speed and altitude of the launching aircraft, providing extremely high velocity and range. But while aeroballistic missiles have defeated S-300s in Iran, the tactic is untested against ground-based air-defence networks using Aesa radars. While the extent to which Turkey and Israel wish to avoid a major clash is unknown, both sides could harass and interfere with military operations through their advanced electronic warfare capabilities, and there is precedent for this in Syria. During US air operations in Syria against ISIS, US commanders said Russian forces frequently disrupted communications and air operations using an array of electronic warfare systems.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia calls Trump threats to bomb Iran 'illegal and unacceptable'
Russia is pushing back against President Donald Trump's threats to bomb Iran, calling them "illegal and unacceptable." Trump in recent days has increased his threats against Iran and warned that there could be direct conflict if the Islamic Republic doesn't stop arming the Houthi terrorist group or halt its nuclear program. Russia, meanwhile, said Thursday that it's committed to finding solutions to Iran's nuclear program that respects its rights to peaceful nuclear energy, according to Reuters. "The use of military force by Iran's opponents in the context of the settlement is illegal and unacceptable," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted by the news agency as saying. "Threats from outside to bomb Iran's nuclear infrastructure facilities will inevitably lead to an irreversible global catastrophe. These threats are simply unacceptable," she reportedly added. Trump Threatens To Bomb Iran Unless They End Nuclear Weapons Program And Begin Talks On New Deal Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer specializing in Russia's war-fighting strategy and Putin's thinking, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that "Russia's statement is consistent with the diplomatic posture that it's trying to project of being Iran's strategic partner." Read On The Fox News App "In reality, Russia and Iran are not natural allies. They share a very turbulent history and there's plenty of distrust in the relationship. The Russians don't trust Iranians to have a fully operational militarized nuclear capability," she continued. "But they would never admit it in public. At one point, during the Obama administration, Moscow was siding with Washington in terms of economic sanctions on Iran and complied with Washington's request not to sell S-300s air defense missiles to Tehran. "Putin is angling to serve as a broker between the Trump administration and the Iranian government on the nuclear issue," she also said. Trump's overtures via a letter to Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, to jump-start talks on dismantling Tehran's illicit nuclear weapons program, were met with rejection on Sunday. Trump Threatens Iran Over Nukes As Dni Gabbard Claims Tehran Is Not Building Bombs Trump told NBC the day before, "If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing." "But there's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago," he added. Secondary "tariffs," or sanctions, would mean slapping financial penalties on any country that does business with Iran. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, "We don't avoid talks; it's the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far," according to The Associated Press. He added, "They must prove that they can build trust." Iran is enriching uranium to 60%, just shy of the 90% weapons-grade. Experts say it could have a nuclear weapon within weeks if it were to take the final steps to building one. Fox News Digital reported in late March that Iran's regime has enriched enough uranium to manufacture six nuclear weapons, according to a U.N. atomic agency report. Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal, Caitlin McFall and Morgan Phillips contributed to this article source: Russia calls Trump threats to bomb Iran 'illegal and unacceptable'
