Iran displays Russian-made long-range air defense systems in military exercises

Tehran claims drills, which come amid renewed US pressure, show Israel didn’t actually fell its air defenses in ‘malicious’ October strikes

Illustrative — Russian S-300 missile systems drives during a general rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 5, 2024. Russia will celebrate the 79th anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. (Alexander Avilov / Moskva News Agency / AFP)
Illustrative — Russian S-300 missile systems drives during a general rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 5, 2024. Russia will celebrate the 79th anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. (Alexander Avilov / Moskva News Agency / AFP)

Iran used Russian-made long-range air defense systems in a military exercise on Wednesday, following Israeli strikes in October which Israel said had seriously weakened Tehran’s defensive capabilities.

Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday that in a simultaneous operation, Iran’s long-range air defense system Bavar-373 and Russian-made S-300 shot down a hypothetical hostile target by firing missiles.

“Some enemy officials and media outlets, after the malicious attack in October, had claimed that they had rendered Iran’s long-range air defense systems non-operational,” it said, referring to Israeli strikes.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian deepened military ties between their countries, signing a 20-year strategic partnership. Though the agreement made no specific mention of arms transfers, the two sides said they would develop “military-technical cooperation.”

The exercises Wednesday took place one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump to discuss regional topics including Iran’s nuclear program.

Both leaders said Iran could not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, with Trump announcing earlier the resumption of his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Illustrative — A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidential office shows Iranian-made air defense missile system Bavar 373 (“believe” in farsi) during a ceremony in Tehran on August 22, 2019. (HO / Iranian Presidency / AFP)

“With me, it’s very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. Asked how close Tehran is to a weapon, Trump said: “They’re too close.”

Last October, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against Iran, almost four weeks after the Islamic Republic’s massive ballistic missile barrage on the country — its second missile attack on Israel since its proxy terror group Hamas invaded the Jewish state on October 7, 2023, launching the war in Gaza.

The Israeli military said the October strikes targeted strategic military sites in Iran — specifically drone and ballistic missile manufacturing and launch sites, as well as air defense batteries.

Then-defense minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli strikes had weakened Iran’s attack and defensive capabilities, leaving it at a huge disadvantage in the event of future action.

In the wake of Israel’s retaliatory sorties, military officials in Israel saw an opportunity for a direct attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The Islamic Republic, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, says its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, but it has enriched its uranium far beyond civilian levels and obstructed international inspectors, and it is understood to have had a military nuclear program in the past, which Israel maintains it never fully abandoned.

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