Iraq is considering buying Russia's S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system as the U.S.-Iran rivalry creates new unrest and a need for new defenses.
Iraq is in talks to purchase a Russian surface-to-air missile system in a bid to update the country's own defense infrastructure amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, which have exchanged hostilities on Iraqi soil.
The S-300, however, is banned by Iraq's top international partner, the U.S., which threatens to sanction countries seeking to buy Russian weapons. Washington and Baghdad's own ties have been severely tested as President Donald Trump increasingly takes on Iran and allied Iraqi forces in a deadly bout that pushed Iraqi lawmakers to vote forA Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile system launches during a test at the Telemba training ground in Buryatia, Russia, March 23, 2018.
Trump threatened Iraq with sanctions if it tried to push U.S. troops out and, though a letter sent by the Pentagon to its Iraqi counterpart appeared to announce preparations for a U.S. exit, Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Army General Mark Milley later In a statement published Friday, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus appeared to reject the Iraqi government's calls for a U.S. withdrawal, saying that"America is a force for good in the Middle East" and that the Pentagon's presence was necessary"to continue the fight against ISIS" as well as protect"Americans, Iraqis, and our coalition partners."
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