Russian media reported Wednesday that Moscow now is ready to go through a long-promised deal to supply the Iranian regime with advanced S-300 missiles that can shoot down ballistic missiles and commercial airplanes from a distance of up to 120 miles.

It is one of most lethal, if not the most lethal, anti-aircraft system in the world. Iran signed a purchase deal in 2007  for five S-300 missile batteries, but the sale was frozen three years ago when the U.N. Security Council slapped sanctions on Tehran..

Russia got around the embargo in its sale of the S-300 to Syria by claiming the weapons were for defense, and presumably that will be the excuse to sell them to Iran.

Just in case the international sanctions get in the way of the sale, Russia has come up with an alternative that might be just as useful for Iran and which does not fall under the sanctions. It would sell Iran the  Antei-2500, AKA S-300VM, or SA-23 Gladiato, according to the Russian Kommersant Daily.

The Antei-2500 was specifically tailored for the needs of ground forces, which could also be an advantage for Iran, known for its large land force,” the Iranian government-controlled Fars News Agency stated.

Kommersant said Iran has asked it to fulfill its promise to complete the S-300 missile sale, and Russia has thrown in an extra goodie by agreeing to build a second nuclear reactor in Bushehr, just what the United States and Israel don’t need.

The Russian and Chinese appetite for money has driven it to become huge weapons suppliers to Iran and Syria, giving them the lever to counter Western influence. The missile sale to Iran will add approximately $700 million to the Kremlin coffers.

Besides the financial angel, Putin is doing his best to establish Russia as the most powerful influence in the Middle East, at the expense of President Barack Obama. Moscow and Beijing have consistently thrown up barriers to American-led efforts to place sanctions on Iran and Syria.

Iran more than welcomes Moscow in its campaign to rid the world of American influence that goes against fundamentalist Muslim regime policies, such as the deprival of human rights..

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said earlier this week that Russia should complete the 2005 deal and supply Iran with S-300 missiles and “should believe themselves and don’t follow the US so much,”  Fars reported Wednesday.

One or more earthquakes have damaged Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility, causing cracks several yards long, according to an Associated Press report based on information picked up by several countries monitoring Iran’s nuclear program.

Diplomats told the Associated Press that at least one concrete section of the facility sustained long cracks but not in the vicinity of the reactor core. However, other damage cannot be ruled out since the information that was available was very limited.

The earthquakes occurred in April.

The Bushehr plant began operation 19 months ago but has been plagued by technical problems.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in February and May that Iran had informed that the site was shut down temporarily, without any explanations. One of the quakes was registered at 7.7 on the Richter scale, and Iran claims the Bushehr site can withstand a quake of 8.0 on the scale.

Damage to the nuclear reactor could cause a massive catastrophe not only in Iran but also in nearby Kuwait and other Arab countries.

Tehran maintained several weeks ago that the quakes did not damage the Bushehr plant, but government reports are totally unreliable.

Iran is located on massive areas of seismic fault lines and experiences an earthquake of various magnitudes almost every day.

Iran has not signed the nuclear safety convention, precluding any authority for the IAEA to inspect its nuclear sites for safety.

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck near Bushehr, in Iran’s southwestern coastal region, killing at least 30 people and injuring nearly 1,000 others. Seven aftershocks were registered within 38 minutes after the initial jolt.

The epicenter was 55 miles southeast of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which is located just 11 miles southeast of the city.

The depth of the quake was 6.2 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Bushehr power plant is the country’s only nuclear power station and is capable of withstanding quakes stronger than 6.3 magnitude.

“The earthquake in no way affected the normal situation at the reactor. Personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm,” a design engineer told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

One village was wiped out, and mud brick houses crumbled in the earthquake.

“We could clearly feel the earthquake,” Nikoo, who requested to be identified only by her first name, told Reuters by telephone. “The windows and chandeliers all shook.”

Social media outlets reported feeling the quake in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There were no immediate reports of damages.

Gulf Arab countries and Western experts have voiced concerns about the Bushehr plant, built in a highly seismic area, but Iran has repeatedly rejected those concerns. Bushehr is home to some 160,000 people.

The US and its allies have repeatedly accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its work at Bushehr is for civilian purposes only.