The recent report by the Iranian Fars news agency about deliveries from Belarus of S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Tehran is a bluff, a Russian arms expert said on Thursday.
The Belarusian government denied on Wednesday rumors that Minsk had allegedly sold S-300 air defense systems to Iran. Fars reported that Iran had acquired two S-300PT (SA-10 Grumble) systems from Belarus and two more systems from an unidentified supplier. There has been no official confirmation from Tehran.
Igor Korotchenko, head of a Moscow-based think tank on the international arms trade, said it was unlikely Belarus could have sold two systems because, when signing an S-300 contract with Russia, Minsk "provided an end user's certificate, which rules out the possibility of re-export".
According to his think tank, four S-300PS battalions (48 missile systems) were delivered to Belarus from Russia as part of an integrated air defense system.
He said deliveries of such systems from third countries were impossible for the same reason.
The Russian expert said the Fars report should be regarded as a "feeler," designed to provoke a negative reaction from the United States and Israel, "which, as a general rule, leads to the consolidation of various political parties and movements in Iran around the ruling regime".
Jane's Defense Systems News reported in January 2008 that Tehran was in the final stages of negotiations with Belarus on the acquisition of two S-300PT systems.
Belarus allegedly asked for $140 mln (including parts, maintenance and training) for the outdated systems, which were deployed near Minsk. RIA Novosti
