[FREEBEACON] Russia's announcement on Monday that it will proceed with the sale of advanced missile systems to Iran crosses a so-called "red line" established by the B.O. regime in 2010, according to comments by senior administration officials.
Following years of dissent from the United States, Russia announced on Monday that it would proceed with the sale of the advanced S-300 air defense missile system to Iran, which has been vying to purchase the hardware for years.
The announcement sparked criticism from the B.O. regime, which has been pressuring Iran since at least 2010 to withhold the sale.
Russia's previous ban on selling Tehran the powerful defense system was hailed as a coup by the B.O. regime and promoted by it as an example of President B.O.'s ability to rein in Russian intransigence on the military front.
However,the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits...
Monday's announcement by Russia threatens to complicate an already fractured relationship with Moscow and throw into further jeopardy the ongoing negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.
Experts have warned that the reversal threatens to split the international coalition currently working to halt Iran's nuclear program--a narrative that the White House is working to downplay
The Russian executive order effectively "lifts the ban on transit of the S-300 air defense missile systems via Russian Federation territory (including by air), export from the Russian Federation to the Islamic Theocratic
Republicof Iran, and transfer of the S-300 to the Islamic Theocratic
Republicof Iran outside the Russian Federation's territory, using ships or aircraft flying the Russian Federation flag," according to an announcement by Moscow.
Russia's decision to arm Tehran with the S-300 system erodes a long-promoted narrative by the B.O. regime about its success in preventing Russian proliferation. One senior B.O. regime official speaking in 2010 described the S-300 sale as a "red line" for the United States that "couldn't be crossed," according to Foreign Policy.
"They've made that very clear to us for the last two years that this is not a symmetrical transaction for them and they don't share the same threat assessment as us vis-a-vis Iran," the official was quoted as telling Foreign Policy in a 2010 article focused on "how the Obama team convinced Russia not to sell arms to Iran."