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Russia 'is sending weapons to Iran as Tehran steps up preparations for possible war with Israel' amid growing fears that an attack could come within hours and ignite regional conflict
Russia is sending air defence systems to Iran as the authoritarian state prepares an imminent attack against Israel, according to officials in Tehran.
The New York Times was told by two Iranian officials, one of whom was a member of the nation's military, that Russia has started to deliver advanced radars and air-defence equipment.
While it is not known exactly what equipment Iran had requested, Iran already has several Russian-made S-300 air defense systems.
Just yesterday Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council and a former defense minister, met with Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and top security officials to support the Middle Eastern nation.
Shoigu said: 'We are ready to cooperate fully with Iran in various areas.'
Pezeshkian, meanwhile, thanked Moscow for supporting Iran in 'difficult times', adding that he wanted to strengthen relations with Russia.
Iran is currently preparing for a major attack against Israel in retaliation for killing top Hamas negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month.
Russia is sending air defence systems to Iran as the authoritarian state prepares an imminent attack against Israel (File image)
Russia and Iran have grown close as allies over the past few years
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered his country's military to take revenge for the killing of top Hamas negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month
The US' top diplomat, Anthony Blinken, told the G7 over the weekend that there was little information about what form the expected attack would take, but that it was likely to happen by the end of Tuesday, if at all.
American and Israeli officials believe that Iran would coordinate with its allies in the region, also known as the Axis of Resistance, which is made up of groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Behind closed doors, the US has been working to ease tensions between Israel, Iran and its respective allies.
In a desperate bid to ease tensions, Biden yesterday called King Abdullah II of Jordan, who helped down Iranian drones and missiles in an earlier showdown in April, while Blinken called top officials in Qatar and Egypt, the key intermediaries seeking a ceasefire in the 10-month Israel-Hamas war.
'We are engaged in intense diplomacy, pretty much around the clock, with a very simple message - all parties must refrain from escalation,' Blinken said after joining other top officials in a White House meeting.
'It's also critical that we break this cycle by reaching a ceasefire in Gaza,' said Blinken.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu (L) in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024
Banner of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's photo taken with Hamas Political Bureau Head Ismail Haniyeh at the inauguration ceremony, hung at Veliasr Street on Tehran, Iran
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel
People gather during a funeral procession for Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination in Tehran, Iran
Despite this, the IDF has continued to wage war against Palestine and Hezbollah.
An Israeli missile strike killed four Hezbollah fighters in a home in the southern Lebanese town of Mayfadoun today.
Meanwhile, eight Palestinians were killed in two IDF raids in the West Bank. Four were killed in the Jenin area and four in Tubas district.
Israel has in the past been criticised for not doing enough to support Western allies in their own geopolitical struggles long before October 7.
In 2022, Volodymyr Zelenksy furiously asked Israeli politician why they had blocked the transfer of Iron Dome missiles to Ukraine, and then refused to impose proper sanctions against Russia.
Iranian Chief of Staff of Iranian Armed Forces General Mohammad Bagheri (R) meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu (L), in Tehran, Iran
People take part in a march called by Palestinian and Lebanese youth organisations in the southern Lebanese city of Saida, on August 5, 2024, to protest against the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh
People watch as the bodies of unidentified Palestinians are buried at a mass grave after the bodies were handed over by Israel, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip August 5, 2024
Israel's then-prime minister, Naftali Bennett, tried to claim that Israel's role as a mediator in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia meant it had to remain neutral.
But Zelensky told Israeli lawmakers: 'Mediation can be between states, not between good and evil.'
A Ukrainian official also claimed at the time that Bennett tried to convince Zelensky to accept Putin's derided demands in order to end the bloodiest conflict on European soil for decades.
'If I were you, I would think about the lives of my people and take the offer,' the official said Bennett told Zelensky.
'Bennett is basically telling us to surrender, and we have no intention of doing that,' the Ukrainian official said at the time.