August 7, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Iran will supply Hezbollah with a number of Russian-made surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems over the coming months, reports the August 9 issue of
Jane’s Defence Weekly. The article quotes Western diplomatic sources who claim that Hezbollah has pressured Iran for “an array of more advanced weaponry, including more advanced SAM systems” in preparation “for the next stage in the confrontation.” In late July, Hezbollah representatives allegedly met with senior representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), at which time Iran agreed “at later date, to supply advanced Russian-made SAM systems to Hezbollah” as part of its strategy to “transform Hezbollah, after the current conflict, into a coherent fighting force and a regional strategic arm.” According to
Jane’s, Tehran will supply Hezbollah with Russian-produced SAMs, including the Strela-2/2M (SA-7 “Grail”), Strela-3 (SA-14 “Gremlin”) and Igla-1E (SA-16 “Gimlet”) man-portable systems. Iran will also deliver its Mithaq-1 and Mithaq-2 man-portable low-altitude SAM systems, both of which are Iranian copies of the Chinese QW-1 man-portable low-altitude SAM system.
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