Russia Sells Iran $1 Billion Dollars Of Arms, Advanced Missiles – Increases Danger To Israel, US, Allies

Berl Lazar's favorite Stalinist, Vladimir Putin, has agreed to sell Iran $1 billion dollars worth of advanced weapons, including a surface-to-air missile system. This move endagers Israel, the US and democratic interests across the globe. The announcement of the arms sale has come less than a week after Lazar, speaking as Chabad's "chief rabbi" of Russia, extolled Putin to a crowd of thousands of Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis gathered in Brooklyn, NY for their annual convention and less than two weeks after Lazar's friendly meeting with the leaders of Russia's antisemitic Stalinists.

Lazar has been giving Putin cover for years, in return for Putin's backing of Chabad's particularist agenda in the FSU, and his thwarting of competition to Lazar's princedom.

Chabad is bad for the world and bad for Jews. There is no greater proof of that then Lazar's backing of Russia's new Josef Stalin.

Reuters reports on the missile deal:

Russia plans to sell more than $1 billion worth of tactical surface-to-air missiles and other defense hardware to
Iran, media reported on Friday.

Moscow is already at odds with the West over its nuclear ties with Tehran but has sought to use its warm relations with Iran to be recognized as a key mediator between the West and the Islamic Republic.

U.S. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, visiting Moscow, told Ekho Moskvy radio he had raised the issue of arms sales to Iran with Russia's Foreign Ministry.

"For the past 25 years, in our opinion, Iran has supported terrorists in the Middle East, in the United States, and that is why we have very bad relations with them. You can understand why we do not support the sale of weapons to such a country," he said in comments simultaneously translated into Russian.

The Vedomosti business daily cited military sources as saying Iran would buy 29 TOR-M1 systems designed to bring down aircraft and guided missiles at low altitudes.

The paper, calling it the biggest sale of Russian defense hardware to Iran for about five years, said Moscow and Tehran had already signed the contract.

Interfax news agency separately quoted a source as saying the deal, which would also include modernizing Iran's air force and supplying some patrol boats, was worth more than $1 billion.

The move, likely to irritate Israel and the United States, could strain Moscow's efforts to broker a deal between Iran and European negotiators aimed at breaking a deadlock over Tehran's nuclear program.

Israel in particular is nervous about Iran's military potential after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in October that Israel should be "wiped off the map" -- comments condemned by Russia at the time.

WEST SUSPECTS IRAN

Russia's Defense Ministry declined to comment on the deal. Officials at state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Russia's state defense supplier, were not available for comment.

Western countries suspect Iran of seeking nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian atomic program, which Tehran denies, saying it wants only to generate electricity.

Russia is helping Iran build its first nuclear reactor and is preparing to launch it next year. Some in the West fear that Iran could use Russian know-how to make sensitive weapons.

The defense industry source told Interfax there were no international restrictions on selling weapons to Iran.

"Moreover, practically all the weapons that Russia is delivering to Iran in the coming years are defensive rather than offensive in character," the source said.

One Western diplomat who closely watches Russia-Iran dealings said news of the deal was alarming and would further increase tensions.

"Russia has long positioned itself as a major peace broker between Iran and the West -- and all of a sudden they are throwing this bombshell. It just does not make any sense," said the diplomat, who asked to remain anonymous.

Comments

[Jath]

the long arm of reb berale lozor ?
promoting pravoslav culture beyond russia ?

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