Is Iran Preparing For War In The Middle East? Russia To Send $1B In Weapons To Tehran

Russia was set to send Iran about $1 billion worth of missile defense systems, Russian news agency Tass reported Monday. The deal was the result of a contract Iran signed with Russian defense manufacturer Rostec Corporation in 2007, but it was put on hold by Russia in 2010. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently ended the delay and paved the way for the contractual obligation for the S-300 air defense systems to be met in full starting this past November.

"The S-300 cost about one billion dollars," Rostec Corporation CEO Sergey Chemezov said. "We were through with the supplies of S-300. No plans for anything are on the agenda."

The timing of the resumption of the contract perhaps could not come at a better time for Iran, which Yemen has accused of trying to incite war with itself and countries in the region, Arab News reported.

Iran has indeed been posturing militarily in the region recently. Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard launched a series of rockets Monday, though their capabilities and intended destinations were not announced. The apparent test firing, which was touted as a major accomplishment by military officials, came amid a three-day military exercise in the country, according to Sputnik News.

"Today, various classes of smart rockets with pinpoint accuracy were successfully test-fired, which showed the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour said after the launches took place.

Iran also conducted a different test-launching of missiles earlier this month, which prompted the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to hit the country with a set of new sanctions.

That came just weeks after Iran was one of the seven Muslim-majority countries named on Trump's executive immigration order banning travel from those countries to the U.S. While that executive order was eventually struck down by the courts, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced Monday that a new, revamped version of the executive order would be revealed Tuesday.