Maybe we're starting to get serious.

And yes, the notion of Iran complaining about violations of diplomatic facilities bent the needle on my irony meter.

US getting serious about Iran? We've noticed.

MOSCOW - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov announced on Tuesday that Russia has delivered anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran that were a part of a defense deal inked by the two countries in 2005. Ivanov also said that Russia would consider further orders from the Middle Eastern country.

"We have supplied the modern short-range anti-aircraft systems TOR-M1 in accordance with our contracts," Ivanov confirmed. "Iran is not under sanctions and if it wants to buy defensive ... equipment for its armed forces then why not?"

Russia is being pretty smart: sell outdated weapon systems to a willing buyer. The stories of Russia and France selling weapons to potential US adversaries is well told over the past conflicts in the Middle East.

The fact is the US military has shown overwhelming success in countering and overcoming conventional military weapon systems. The lastest Russian SAMs, tanks, and aircraft have been considered by military designers and procurers for decades now. I'm not concerned about a war with Iran using conventional forces.

As for being upset that Russia is profitting by selling weapons to Iran? It really is an old story. They have a large military infrastructure that is not being used. They have an economy that needs the money. The Middle East nations have money, but not the raw materials to build war machines. It is a reasonable transaction.

Russian military advisors would be a greater issue, but even then, its a challenge the US military has prepared for over the last decades.

These SAMS the Russian are selling are so short range, they are well outside the standoff range of many of our countermeasures. They have a ceiling of 20,000 feet for example.

Isn't Tor also used as point defense against incoming JDAMs and cruise missiles?

If Tor can hit incoming bunker busters then a more robust preparation of the battlespace is needed before we can take out the underground centrifuge facilities, for example. Which is fine, we certainly can do that yet it is quite possible that a few Tor vehicles will remain camoflauged and radar dark until the bunker busters are dropped.

If we use a nuclear bunker buster and a Tor missle hits in on its way in the consequences could be less than predictable.

It's going to be all about radar cat-n-mouse which we will win, but only after an extended campaign to prepare the battlespace.

Oh, and this thought:

How many carrier air wings did we use against Saddam in Gulf War One? Five or six, correct? Plus plenty of F-16s and Tornadoes based in Saudi Arabia.

Are we that much better now that two carrier air wings can defeat the Iranian air force in a very short time window?

Oh, and a PPS --

With Tor in Iran, can Israel knock out those underground facilities without significant US assistance?

Bill,

Wether TOR can hit a JDAM is irrelevant. What is relevant is we have the means to eliminate the TOR. Any strike package will be preceeded by a SEAD package.

Even if the missile batteries are physically operational, I doubt they will be hitting any JDAMS with their radars being activelly jammed.

I love how people like to lock on to some supposed capability of a Russian weapons system and assign it the aura of invincibility. Particularly the low speed aerobatics of the Suhkoh series fighters. I still want to see it outmaneuver a modern AAM that can pull 20+ G's

I guarentee you we have at least a half dozen ways to either eliminate the TOR's or render them impotent.

And I am sure we have shared some of them with the Izzy's.