The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ending a self-imposed ban on delivering the S-300 anti-missile rocket system to Iran, removing a major irritant between the two countries after Moscow canceled a corresponding contract in 2010 under pressure from the West.

Russia announced Monday it has signed a contract with Iran to sell the country S-300 surface-to-air missiles, much to the dismay of Israel who strongly opposes the deal.
Critics fear the country will use the long-range missiles to protect Iran’s nuclear sites from aerial attacks, changing the balance of power in the Middle East.
According to Michaela Dodge, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, the transaction will make it harder for countries like the United States and Israel to take military action if needed.
“The nature of deployment in Iran would be defensive and trying to prevent the capability of our air force to operate there as it may be capable of operating today,” Arieh Herzog, a former head of Israel’s Missile Defense Program, told the Associated Press. “There will be a dramatic change in their capability and it does not create a reasonable environment for any operation of our air force.”