Syrian official says S-300 defenses will give Israel pause

Beirut, 26 Sep 2018 [Fik/News Sources]:  A Syrian official says Israel should think carefully before attacking Syria again once it obtains the sophisticated S-300 defense system from Russia.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said late Tuesday that the S-300 should have been given to Syria long ago. He says Israel, “which is accustomed to launching many aggressions under different pretexts, will have to make accurate calculations if it thinks to attack Syria again.”

Russia said Monday that it will supply Damascus with the defense system after last week’s downing of a Russian plane by Syria forces responding to an Israeli airstrike.

The Russian Il-20 military reconnaissance aircraft was downed by Syrian air defenses that mistook it for an Israeli aircraft, killing all 15 people on board.