During his daily press briefing Tuesday, State Dept. Spokesperson John Kirby reiterated that the US continues to have concerns about the S-300 sale.
“We’ve been making very clear our objections to any sale of this missile system to Iran, as I said, for quite some time, and we’ll continue to monitor it closely,” Kirby said, adding that, nevertheless, “the transfer of this defensive system to Iran is not prohibited under UN Security Council resolutions.”
Asked why the US objects to the sale, Kirby said, “Well, this is a surface-to-air missile system going to a regime who we know continues to conduct nefarious activities and support to terrorism around the region. I don’t know why we wouldn’t object to it.”
But isn’t the S-300 essentially a defensive weapon?
“It’s defensive system, but it’s nonetheless a surface-to-air missile and it’s not an insignificant military capability,” Kirby said, adding that the US has “legitimate concerns that those kinds of systems could end up being used for other purposes or in the hands of other people. So I think we have every right to be concerned about it and to express those concerns.”