Only days after Russia announced it plans to deliver to Iran the advanced S-300 aerial defense system, Iran says it has already completed developing a local version of the system with similar capabilities. The Iranian system, Bavar ("belief") 373, was presented on Saturday during the military parades for Iran's Army Day. According to Iranian Fars news agency, the Bavar 373 system's abilities "surpass those of the Russian system" in mobility, speed, and time required to launch a missile. Officials in Iran said the system will enter service in the coming year. The statements should be taken with a grain of salt however, as Iran often makes announcements about new weaponry and trumps up its military capabilities as part of a strategy to deter any possible Israeli or U.S. military strike against its nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said over the weekend that talk of such a strike has no merit. "The military option is nonexistent and doesn't work against Iran, and it's better to stop making those statements," Zarif said. Zarif's remarks were made in response to U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey's statements on Thursday that U.S. military officials had taken into account the possibility of Iran fielding the S-300 in all their plans, and that the military option against Iran was still "intact." On Friday, Zarif told Euronews that Iran would return to enriching uranium "without any limitations" unless the U.S. and U.N. choose to cooperate and lift the economic sanctions on Iran immediately. "We've said from the beginning that we need to choose the path, we can have the path of confrontation or we can have the path of cooperation, we cannot have a little bit of each," Zarif said. The nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers are slated to continue in Vienna on April 22. The two sides announced reaching a framework agreement April 2, with a deadline for a final deal set for June 30. USA Today recently reported that the new points of contention of have surfaced between the two sides, concerning the number of centrifuges Iran will be permitted to have, the date which sanctions will be lifted, and the time period the agreement will be in place for, among others. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned on Saturday Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen and said it was "sewing seeds of hatred" in the Middle East. Pentagon officials expressed their concern on Saturday over Iran's intent to send seven to nine warships to the Yemen area, in a possible attempt to break the naval blockade placed on the country.
