Russia’s announcement that it was lifting the ban on supplying the S-300 missile system to Iran demonstrates the major improvement in Tehran’s status less than two weeks after the framework deal on its nuclear program was finalized in Lausanne.

The final agreement is only meant to be signed in two-and-a-half months and international sanctions have not been lifted, but the Iranians are already starting to enjoy the fruits of these understandings. Russia’s interpretation is that although the restrictions against supplying weapons to Iran are still in effect, they do not apply in this instance because the surface-to-air missiles are defensive weapons.

Russia has been toying with this deal for nearly a decade, as part of the complex balance of power it maintains with the West. In the past, it submitted to U.S. and Israeli pressure and suspended its supply of the missiles. However, the deal would resurface from time to time as a bargaining chip when relations with the United States were at a nadir – as is the case now over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

Former Israeli ambassador to Russia Zvi Magen described the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a dramatic decision that poses a challenge to the West. He stated that increased Russian activism in the Middle East is meant to compensate for Putin’s failure to place a wedge between Ukraine and the West, even as it helps Moscow reestablish close ties with Tehran.

Read the article in full at Haaretz.