Israeli Defense Official: S-300 Could Reach Hizbullah
Advanced S-300 Russian air defense weapons, which Moscow has pledged to deliver to Syria, could reach Hizbullah and beyond, a senior Israeli defense official has warned.
Amos Gilad, head of the diplomatic-security branch of Israel's defense ministry, told Channel 2 that such a transfer is a threat to the Jewish state, to the U.S. and to the Persian Gulf.
“These weapons are dangerous. If Hizbullah and Iran support Syria, why shouldn’t (the Syrian regime) transfer these weapons to Hizbullah?,” he asked.
The United States has long urged Russia to halt arms sales to Syria and has expressed particular concern about the planned delivery of the sophisticated S-300 air defense weapons, which officials worry could complicate any international intervention and possibly fall into the hands of Hizbullah.
The U.S. military's top officer General Martin Dempsey said Friday that Russia's shipment of anti-ship missiles to Syria will "embolden" the regime and fuel the country's civil war.
Gilad argued that if Syria has already transferred Scud missiles to Hizbullah, there is reason to believe the S-300 could follow the same route from Damascus to Lebanon.
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