Latest news with #S-300s
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'
Fox News
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
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. Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer specializing in Russia's war-fighting strategy and Putin's thinking, told Fox News Digital Thursday that "Russia's statement is consistent with the diplomatic posture that it's trying to project of being Iran's strategic partner. "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 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.
Telegraph
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Iran on ‘high alert' amid fears of attack on nuclear sites
Iran has put its defence systems around its nuclear sites on high alert amid fears of an attack by Israel and the US, The Telegraph has learned. According to two high-level government sources, the Islamic Republic has also been bolstering defences around key nuclear and missile sites, which include the deployment of additional air defence system launchers. Officials say the measures are in response to growing concerns of potential joint military action by Israel and the United States. It follows warnings from US intelligence to both the Biden and Trump administrations that Israel would likely target key Iranian nuclear sites this year. 'They [Iranian authorities] are just waiting for the attack and are anticipating it every night and everything has been on high alert – even in sites that no one knows about,' one source told The Telegraph. 'Work to fortify nuclear sites has been ongoing for years but it has intensified over the past year, particularly since Israel launched the first attack,' he added. 'Recent developments, including Donald Trump's comments and reports about potential plans from his administration to strike Iran, have further intensified activities.' Heightened fears of imminent Israeli attack Israel and Iran have been engaged in a long shadow war, mainly between Israel and the Islamic Republic's proxies. Since the war in Gaza began in 2023, both sides have carried out daring attacks on each other. In October last year, Iran launched unprecedented strikes involving 200 missiles on Israel, which retaliated with airstrikes. Iran now fears that with the support of Mr Trump, who has advocated for Israel to hit Iran's nuclear facilities, an Israeli attack is imminent. The official acknowledged that any big strike could leave Iran vulnerable against its defence systems which were heavily weakened by last year's Israel strikes. 'Several additional [air defence system] launchers have been deployed, but there is an understanding that they may not be effective in the event of a large-scale strike,' he said. The Islamic regime has domestically developed an air defence system and has Russian S-300s to protect its nuclear sites. However these are not thought to be robust enough to protect against Israel's cutting edge weapons, prompting Iran to pressure Russia into expediting a delivery of S-400 missile systems. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aerospace force commander, announced this week that Iran is also developing a ballistic missile defence system to defend against an Israeli attack. He said: 'Regarding anti-ballistic systems, in recent events, we suffered damage in this area, which shows a deficiency in the country's ballistic defence sector.' 'In every meeting that I, along with [IRGC] commander [Hossein] Salami and [chief of staff of Iran's armed force] commander [Mohammad] Bagheri, had with the supreme leader, his first question was always: 'What happened? Where does it stand?'' he said. He said the defence system will be ready in March to equip Tehran and several major cities with an anti-ballistic defence system. 'Currently, we are capable of producing missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometres and have no technical limitations in this regard. If there is a threat from the United States, we can strike nearby targets with low-cost missiles,' he said. 'Maximum pressure' from Trump Israel's victories over Iran's proxy networks such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Syria, who was Tehran's main ally, and regional setbacks have severely weakened the Iranian regime. The losses have fuelled dissent at home and raised hopes for change. It has left Iran vulnerable to Mr Trump's hawkish stance on the country. Since he came to power he has resumed his 'maximum pressure' campaign on Iran, including efforts to stop it from obtaining nuclear weapons by driving its oil exports down to zero. On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said with Mr Trump's support, his government would 'finish the job' with Iran. Analysts say it is unlikely Israel would be able to destroy Iran's nuclear programme without receiving help from the United States. Mr Trump has expressed a preference for making a deal with Tehran but has also made it clear that he is considering US military action if negotiations fail. The Iranian official who spoke to The Telegraph said there are now fears in Tehran that 'the US could join in and launch a larger-scale attack that could put the Islamic Republic's existence in danger.' In Washington, Michael Waltz, the US national security adviser, said on Sunday: 'All options are on the table.' 'They [Iran] are an irrational actor that we cannot allow to have their finger on the button,' he added. He said Mr Trump was willing 'to talk to Iran' only on condition of giving up the 'entire [nuclear] programme and not play games as we've seen Iran do in the past.' 'US could support Israeli attack' Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group, told the Telegraph there are several ways the US could support an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites. He said: 'The US can support it politically, the US can support it in terms of intelligence reconnaissance and aerial refuelling capabilities, also the US can support in transferring advanced munitions and delivery vehicles to be able to destroy Iran's nuclear programme.' One of the challenges for Israel in hitting Iran is that its warplanes must travel over 1,500 kilometres to be within striking distance. This requires mid-air refuelling over potentially hostile territory while facing Iran's Russian-made air defences. Mr Brodsky said there is 'always the option of the United States participating in strikes with Israel on the nuclear file.' 'The Iranian regime in weary is eyeing these different options very wearily, their nervousness has increased, understandably, as a result of the reports in the US media and the US intelligence assessments which Israel ready is to strike the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme this year.' Iran is now seeking ways to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which Mr Trump withdrew from in 2018, while the US is pushing for complete disarmament. Mr Brodsky said: 'As long as both sides are speaking with such demands, there is unlikely to be a sustainable diplomatic settlement to this issue and that necessitates the US to develop a very robust pressure architecture that we have seen the Trump administration start to do.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran's missile defences on ‘high alert' amid fears of attack
Iran has put its defence systems around its nuclear sites on high alert amid fears of an attack by Israel and the US, The Telegraph has learned. According to two high-level government sources, the Islamic Republic has also been bolstering defences around key nuclear and missile sites, which include the deployment of additional air defence system launchers. Officials say the measures are in response to growing concerns of potential joint military action by Israel and the United States. It follows warnings from US intelligence to both the Biden and Trump administrations that Israel would likely target key Iranian nuclear sites this year. 'They [Iranian authorities] are just waiting for the attack and are anticipating it every night and everything has been on high alert – even in sites that no one knows about,' one source told The Telegraph. 'Work to fortify nuclear sites has been ongoing for years but it has intensified over the past year, particularly since Israel launched the first attack,' he added. 'Recent developments, including Donald Trump's comments and reports about potential plans from his administration to strike Iran, have further intensified activities.' Israel and Iran have been engaged in a long shadow war, mainly between Israel and the Islamic Republic's proxies. Since the war in Gaza began in 2023, both sides have carried out daring attacks on each other. In October last year, Iran launched unprecedented strikes involving 200 missiles on Israel, which retaliated with airstrikes. Iran now fears that with the support of Mr Trump, who has advocated for Israel to hit Iran's nuclear facilities, an Israeli attack is imminent. The official acknowledged that any big strike could leave Iran vulnerable against its defence systems which were heavily weakened by last year's Israel strikes. 'Several additional [air defence system] launchers have been deployed, but there is an understanding that they may not be effective in the event of a large-scale strike,' he said. The Islamic regime has domestically developed an air defence system and has Russian S-300s to protect its nuclear sites. However these are not thought to be robust enough to protect against Israel's cutting edge weapons, prompting Iran to pressure Russia into expediting a delivery of S-400 missile systems. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aerospace force commander, announced this week that Iran is also developing a ballistic missile defence system to defend against an Israeli attack. He said: 'Regarding anti-ballistic systems, in recent events, we suffered damage in this area, which shows a deficiency in the country's ballistic defence sector.' 'In every meeting that I, along with [IRGC] commander [Hossein] Salami and [chief of staff of Iran's armed force] commander [Mohammad] Bagheri, had with the supreme leader, his first question was always: 'What happened? Where does it stand?'' he said. He said the defence system will be ready in March to equip Tehran and several major cities with an anti-ballistic defence system. 'Currently, we are capable of producing missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometres and have no technical limitations in this regard. If there is a threat from the United States, we can strike nearby targets with low-cost missiles,' he said. Israel's victories over Iran's proxy networks such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Syria, who was Tehran's main ally, and regional setbacks have severely weakened the Iranian regime. The losses have fuelled dissent at home and raised hopes for change. It has left Iran vulnerable to Mr Trump's hawkish stance on the country. Since he came to power he has resumed his 'maximum pressure' campaign on Iran, including efforts to stop it from obtaining nuclear weapons by driving its oil exports down to zero. On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said with Mr Trump's support, his government would 'finish the job' with Iran. Analysts say it is unlikely Israel would be able to destroy Iran's nuclear programme without receiving help from the United States. Mr Trump has expressed a preference for making a deal with Tehran but has also made it clear that he is considering US military action if negotiations fail. The Iranian official who spoke to The Telegraph said there are now fears in Tehran that 'the US could join in and launch a larger-scale attack that could put the Islamic Republic's existence in danger.' In Washington, Michael Waltz, the US national security adviser, said on Sunday: 'All options are on the table.' 'They [Iran] are an irrational actor that we cannot allow to have their finger on the button,' he added. He said Mr Trump was willing 'to talk to Iran' only on condition of giving up the 'entire [nuclear] programme and not play games as we've seen Iran do in the past.' Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group, told the Telegraph there are several ways the US could support an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites. He said: 'The US can support it politically, the US can support it in terms of intelligence reconnaissance and aerial refuelling capabilities, also the US can support in transferring advanced munitions and delivery vehicles to be able to destroy Iran's nuclear programme.' One of the challenges for Israel in hitting Iran is that its warplanes must travel over 1,500 kilometres to be within striking distance. This requires mid-air refuelling over potentially hostile territory while facing Iran's Russian-made air defences. Mr Brodsky said there is 'always the option of the United States participating in strikes with Israel on the nuclear file.' 'The Iranian regime in weary is eyeing these different options very wearily, their nervousness has increased, understandably, as a result of the reports in the US media and the US intelligence assessments which Israel ready is to strike the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme this year.' Iran is now seeking ways to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which Mr Trump withdrew from in 2018, while the US is pushing for complete disarmament. Mr Brodsky said: 'As long as both sides are speaking with such demands, there is unlikely to be a sustainable diplomatic settlement to this issue and that necessitates the US to develop a very robust pressure architecture that we have seen the Trump administration start to do.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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