Iranian officials say Russia has begun delivering advanced air defense and radar equipment to Iran after Tehran asked the Kremlin for the arms, the New York Times reported Monday.
While local Iranian media reported that Tehran had requested the equipment, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and another official confirmed to the Times that not only had the request been made, but that deliveries had started.
The development came with the Middle East on edge at the expectation of a direct Iranian attack on Israel as revenge for Israel’s alleged assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Iran says Israel must be “punished” for Haniyeh’s assassination and has vowed to take action, raising worries that its response could bring the restive Middle East closer to all-out war.
Iranian proxy group Hezbollah has also threatened to hit Israel from Lebanon following the assassination of its military leader Fuad Shukr in an attack near Beirut last week claimed by Israel.
Israel has said it is ready to defend itself and will hit back at any aggression. According to a report by the Ynet outlet, at a Sunday meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed with the country’s security chiefs the option of preemptively striking Iran to foil an imminent attack.
On Monday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the country must be ready to quickly go on the offensive in the event of an Iranian assault.
The Times report did not say what equipment Iran had requested from Russia or what had been delivered. Iran already has some Russian-made S-300 air defense systems, though Moscow now has the more advanced S-400 system.
In April Iran carried out an unprecedented direct attack on Israel it said was revenge for the killing of a senior army commander in a Syria strike it blamed on Israel.
The wave of some 300 missiles and drones was almost entirely intercepted by Israeli air defense systems in cooperation with the US and a roster of allies and Arab countries in the region. It caused only minor damage, though a young Bedouin girl was seriously hurt by falling shrapnel.
