The Pentagon said Tuesday that Iran acquiring a missile defense system from Russia is a negative development, but that the president will have military options available to him if the long-awaited deal goes through.
“We don’t see this as a positive development,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said of the S-300 missile system sale from Russia to Iran. “At the same time, here at the Defense Department, again, the president will have options available to him, even if that system is put into place.”
Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan said Tuesday that the two countries had reached a deal that would give the Iranians the S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems by the end of the year, the Hill reported.
As a defensive weapon, the S-300 does not fall under the U.N. arms embargo that’s still in effect. Russia this year lifted its self-imposed ban on the sale of the system to Iran.
Cook said that while the administration is not happy about the sale of the missile defense system, the military is confident that it has the ability to protect the U.S. and its allies even if Iran acquires this new weapon.
“We’ve long expressed our concerns of reports on this possible sale of this missile system to the Iranians. We take the safety and security of our allies in the region seriously,” he said. “This is something we’ve been tracking, and in general, we’re confident in our capabilities, even if that system is sold.”
Cook declined to talk about what specific options would be available to the administration to defend against the weapons system, only saying that “military” options would be available to the president.
Reports of the sale being finalized come as the administration is trying to defend its nuclear deal with Iran to Congress, which would lift sanctions on the country in exchange for several years of limits on its nuclear proliferation abilities.
