Pentagon Sees No Evidence Iraq's Purchase of Russian S-400 'Going to Happen'

17:00 GMT, 27 March 2018

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Department of Defense has not seen any evidence that Iraq is actually going to buy S-400 Triumf air defense systems from Russia, Operation Inherent Resolve Deputy Commander of Air, Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft told reporters.

Sputnik

"I've only seen that in the open press," Croft said on Tuesday. "It's a very expensive complicated system, but I've seen no evidence that that is actually going to happen."

Croft also said the Iraqi authorities have not consulted with the United States about the purchase of the Russian air defense system.

In February, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari told Sputnik that Iraq was negotiating the purchase of S-400 air defense missile systems from Russia, but possible US sanctions could be an obstacle to that. US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that the United States had informed governments around the world, including the Iraqi government, of possible consequences under the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

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Member of the Iraqi parliament's security and defense committee Ammar Taamah in an interview to Sputnik stated that the S-400 deal with Russia is completely in line with Iraq's national interests, adding that many countries oppose it because "Iraq's regional strength and influence are growing, so the question arises, of how strong Iraq will be allowed to become and who may influence this."

The S-400 Triumph is Russia's newest long-range anti-aircraft missile system. It is designed to destroy aircraft as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles, while it can also be used against ground targets. The range of the S-400 is 400 kilometers and it is capable of destroying targets at an altitude of up to 30 kilometers.