RUSSIA GIVES IRAN CUTTING-EDGE ANTI-SHIP MISSILES TO GIVE TO HEZBOLLAH

We'd like to thank the State Department for keeping the IAF leashed during Lebanon II, the United Nations for stopping the war just as Israeli soldiers were getting poured across the border, and pretty much everyone else for the fantastic job they've been doing with Iran:

The recent delivery of an advanced Russian-made anti-ship missile to Iran has defense officials concerned it will be transferred to Syria and Hizbullah and used against the Israel Navy in a future conflict... Called the SSN-X-26 Yakhont, the supersonic cruise missile can be launched from the coast and hit sea-borne targets up to 300 kilometers away. The missile carries a 200-kilogram warhead and flies a meter-and-a-half above sea level... The missile homes in on its target using an advanced radar guidance system that is said to make it resistant to electronic jamming. The Yakhont is an operational and tactical missile and can be used against both a medium-sized destroyer and an aircraft carrier. It would pose a serious threat to the Israel Navy,... While officials could not confirm that the missile had reached Syria or Hizbullah, the growing assumption is that any weapons system or missile that can be taken apart and fit into a shipping container can easily be transferred.

Of course, any significant Hezbollah attack would now also send the IAF to Syria's doorstep. So at least Russia's not also pouring offensive and defensive weapons into Syria. We're not too worried. The UN was very clear that they would prevent any arms smuggling to Hezbollah, if only Israel agreed to withdraw behind the border.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]