Iran has declined to purchase Russian air defense systems following their destruction by Israel.

Iran will not be purchasing Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, as its own systems are significantly superior, stated a senior official from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). A month ago, Russian air defense systems failed to intercept an Israeli missile attack and were reportedly destroyed, according to U.S. and Israeli intelligence data.

Davood Sheykhian, the deputy for the IRGC's aerospace operations, said in a video interview for state-run Iranian media:

“Our current systems have far greater capabilities than the S-400,” he noted, adding that Iran is also actively using Russian-made S-300 systems and sees no necessity for the S-400.

At the beginning of August, The New York Times reported that Iranian leadership, fearing war with Israel, requested advanced air defense systems from Moscow (likely the S-400 "Triumph" – the most modern air defense system produced by Russia).

The request was made during the visit of Sergei Shoigu to Tehran, two Iranian officials told the newspaper.

As a result, Iranian air defense was unable to counter the Israeli attack carried out by around 100 aircraft, including F-35 stealth fighters, on the night of October 26.

Israel incapacitated 12 installations where fuel for Iranian ballistic missiles was produced, which began being supplied to the Russian army this year. Additionally, it destroyed a secret center where research related to nuclear weapons had been conducted since the beginning of the year.

Furthermore, three S-300 systems that were in service not only failed to protect Iranian sites but were also destroyed themselves.

This information was shared with The Wall Street Journal by American and Israeli officials, emphasizing that if Russian systems managed to intercept any missiles, it was only a few.

Background. It has become known that Israel may transfer captured Russian weapons to Ukraine. The country received the corresponding armaments during operations against Hamas and Hezbollah.