Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin NetanyahuKobi Gidon/GPO

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has once more warned against the transfer of an advanced surface-to-air missile system to Iran.

"Israel sees with great severity the supply of S-300 missiles from Russia to Iran, at a time in which Iran is ramping up its aggressiveness in the region and all around Israel's borders,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday at the start of the government's weekly session.

"Israel also sees with great severity the fact that there is no mention of this aggressiveness in the nuclear deal being formed between the powers and Iran," he added. "There is no conditioning of the deal upon an end to this aggressiveness, either at the start of the deal or as a condition for removing sanctions.”

"Yesterday we saw the military parade in Tehran and the arms exposition that Iran is presenting before the world. Every year the missiles grow – their accuracy, their power and their lethality grow – but one thing does not change. What does not change is the writing 'death ot Israel' on the missiles. In the face of the entirety of the threats I have described, Israel will do what is necessary to protect the security of the state and its citizens,” Netanyahu said.

Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on Monday defended his country’s decision to lift a ban on the delivery of S-300 anti-missile rocket systems to Iran, saying the S-300 system does not pose a threat to Israel.

Commenting on the decision, Lavrov was quoted by Russia Today as saying that the embargo on S-300 deliveries was no longer necessary, due to the progress in Iran’s nuclear talks made in Lausanne on April 2.

During the talks in Switzerland, the sides have made “substantial progress in resolving the Iranian nuclear program,” Lavrov said, adding, “The political framework of the final deal agreed upon was highly praised by the international community.”

“We believe that at this stage there is no longer need for this kind of embargo - from the Russian side it was unilateral and voluntary,” he added, according to Russia Today.

Lavrov said that the S-300 is an air defense missile system, which is of a purely defensive nature. It is not designed for attacks and “will not put at risk the security of any state in the region, including Israel," he stressed.

Last week, Netanyahu spoke personally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and warned him against arming Iran with what could be a potentially game-changing weapons system.