Iran, already under intense international pressure over its nuclear activities, has reportedly bought 29 mobile air defence systems from Moscow in a deal worth more than 700 million dollars.

"When a country sells arms to Iran, it strengthens the military strength of the state and serves only the interests of the most negative elements in the region," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Marc Regev told AFP.

The contract with Russia, which is already helping Tehran build a nuclear reactor in Bushehr, coincided with an Israeli announcement it had successfully testfired an Arrow defence missile against a mock Shahab missile.

Tehran's rapid progress on its ballistic missile programme is a major cause for concern in the international community. Israel's own fears were heightened in October when Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Jewish state must be "wiped off the map".

Iran has been constantly upgrading the Shahab-3 missile, a single-stage device that is believed to be based on a North Korean design and have a range of at least 2,000 kilometres (1,280 miles) -- meaning that arch-enemy Israel and US bases in the region are well within range.

"For the first time we have verified the Arrow's capabilities against the Iranian Shahab and this test has allowed us to demonstrate that we have the means to counter Iranian threats," Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said Sunday.

The latest test of the Arrow, or Hetz in Hebrew -- which is not yet operational -- followed a pledge by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Israel would never allow Iran to come into possession of nuclear weapons.

The Shahab-3, which means "Meteor" or "Shooting Start" in Farsi, was once described by Israel's Mossad spy agency as the greatest threat to the Jewish state's existence since its creation in 1948.

First launched in 1988 during the now-defunct Star Wars strategy under former US president Ronald Reagan, the US-inspired Arrow programme was stepped up after Israel was hit by 39 Iraqi Scud missiles that left two people dead during the 1991 Gulf war.

Development of the Arrow is half-funded by the United States, which provides Israel with about three billion dollars in military and civilian aid each year.

Israel has repeatedly warned that Iran may be close to developing a nuclear weapon, saying the Islamic republic might be as little as six months away from having the means to build the bomb.

Its army chief Dan Halutz predicted Sunday diplomatic efforts to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions would fail but suggested a military strike was not yet on the cards.

"The Iranians are determined to get a nuclear capability. From Israel's viewpoint such a situation is unacceptable... We should be prepared for the worst scenario," he said.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, defended the Russian deal in an interview with AFP.

"Is this a problem? Do we need permission?" he said.

Russia's news agency ITAR-TASS on Friday quoted an unnamed top Russian defence ministry official as saying the deal involved 29 Tor M-1 mobile systems capable of bringing down both aircraft and missiles.

Israeli newspapers noted the weapons build-up with some alarm, with respected military commentator Alex Fishman calling the arms race a "cancerous illness" in a column in the top-selling Yediot Aharanot newspaper.

"The Iranians do not yet have nuclear weapons, but we are already at the early stage of the game: we are running an arms race against them for defensive weapons, trying to understand where they're headed and to run a few steps ahead," Fishman wrote.

"The race will go on unless some sort of miracle happens to stop this lunacy, which sucks billions of dollars from each side."

related report
Iran buying, developing missile defence system: official Tehran (AFP) Dec 05 -- Iran, under pressure over its disputed nuclear programme, has been developing a missile defence system and has bought such technology from Russia, the Islamic republic's top national security official told AFP.

"Is this a problem? Do we need permission?" said Ali Larijani, when asked to confirm reports that his country has bought 29 mobile air defence systems from Moscow in a contract worth more than 700 million dollars (600 million euros).

"We have contracts with other countries to buy or sell arms. This is not the first time we have signed a contract with the Russians. We have done so in the past with Russia and other countries like China," said Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

"This is not the first time we have bought an anti-missile system. We also make them ourselves."

Russia's state news agency ITAR-TASS on Friday quoted an unnamed top Russian defence ministry official as saying the deal involved 29 Tor M-1 mobile systems capable of bringing down both aircraft and missiles.

The United States has said it is unhappy with the deal -- which comes amid unease in the West over Russia's role in helping Tehran develop nuclear energy.

Larijani said with a smile that Iran's air defences "do not have many weaknesses", but went on to dismiss fears that his country was also seeking to equip itself with long-range ballistic missiles.

"We always announce the range of missiles we test. There is nothing secret," he said.

Iran has been constantly upgrading the Shahab-3 missile, a single-stage device that is believed to be based on a North Korean design and have a range of at least 2,000 kilometres (1,280 miles) -- meaning that arch-enemy Israel and US bases in the region are well within range.

In Farsi, Shahab means "meteor" or "shooting star".

Iran said it achieved a major breakthrough in May when it successfully tested a new solid fuel motor for the Shahab-3, which would make the missiles more mobile, more accurate and cheaper -- and pave the wave for potentially longer-range, dual-stage devices.

But Larijani asserted that "long-range missiles do not only have a military use, because to launch satellites you need long-range missiles."

Tehran's rapid progress on its ballistic missile programme is a major cause for concern in the international community. Israel's fears were heightened in October when Iran's harldine President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Jewish state "must be wiped off the map".

Related Links
SpaceWar
Search SpaceWar
Subscribe To SpaceWar Express

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only