DefenceTalkFrench Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Sunday warned Iran of possible European sanctions over its recent ballistic missile launches. “If necessary, sanctions will be taken,” Ayrault said after a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry and several European counterparts. Kerry described the launches — which the US has asked to be discussed at […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sanctions-possible-over-iran-ballistic-missile-launches-france-67036/

DefenceTalkIran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has tested ballistic missiles for the second straight day in an attempt to show strength and in defiance of U.S. warnings. The IRGC fired two missiles, Qadr-H and Qadr-F, from the heights of the Alborz Mountains in northern Iran, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported. The missiles traveled […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-tests-medium-range-missiles-show-strength-67005/

DefenceTalkIran conducted multiple ballistic missile tests Tuesday in what it said was a display of “deterrent power,” defying US sanctions imposed earlier this year aimed at disrupting its missile program. State media announced that short-, medium- and long-range precision guided missiles were fired from several sites to show the country’s “all-out readiness to confront threats” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-conducts-new-missile-tests-defying-us-sanctions-66996/

DefenceTalkThe shipment of Russian S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran has been delayed due to payment issues, said the Kremlin on Thursday. “The deal has not been paid for properly, so it is premature to speak about a concrete delivery date,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He did not say whether the issue was […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-delays-delivery-of-s-300-missiles-to-iran-66806/

DefenceTalkIran plans to buy the Sukhoi Su-30SM fighters, the Mil Mi-8 and the Mil Mi-17 helicopters, as well as other weapons from Russia in an arms deal worth more than $8 billion, the Kommersant newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources. “Tehran has already sent a list of military hardware that Iranian Armed Forces would like to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/su-30s-mi-8s-iran-8-billion-arms-deal-russia-66792/

DefenceTalkWith sanctions on Iran coming to a close thanks to the agreement between Tehran and the “P5+1” countries, international businesses are lining up to enter the Iranian market. President Hassan Rouhani’s recent visit to Europe – where he reached a number of high-profile agreements, including an order for 118 Airbus jetliners[i] – has been the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-considering-domestic-manufacture-of-t-90s-tank-66701/

DefenceTalkChinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the first stop on a trip to raise the economic giant’s political profile in a troubled Middle East. Xi, making his first presidential visit to the region, will also travel to Egypt and Iran during his five-day tour. State television showed Xi meeting with King […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinese-president-in-saudi-arabia-to-bolster-ties-66437/

DefenceTalkIran denounced new US sanctions on its missile program on Monday but pushed ahead with international cooperation after its historic nuclear deal. Washington announced the new sanctions on Sunday, the day after the UN atomic watchdog confirmed that Iran had complied with the measures imposed by the deal with global powers reached in Vienna in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-denounces-new-us-sanctions-on-missile-program-66409/

DefenceTalkIran has removed the core of its Arak heavy water reactor and filled part of it with cement, a crucial step under a soon to be implemented nuclear agreement with world powers. A spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization told state television the work was done on Wednesday, paving the way for UN nuclear inspectors […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-says-reactor-core-removed-in-key-step-for-deal-66379/

DefenceTalkWashington: A navigational error caused two US Navy vessels to stray into Iranian waters, Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said Thursday, as opponents of the Obama administration voiced increasing anger over the US response to the incident. Carter provided no detail but said “a navigational error of some kind” led to the two small patrol boats […]https://www.defencetalk.com/navigational-error-to-blame-in-iran-incident-pentagon-66376/