Iran starts biggest air defense war games

Iran began its biggest ever air defense war games on Tuesday to test its ability for air defense. According to sources, the five-day war games were being held near nuclear facilities and included tests of long-range missiles. Iran said earlier this month that it had developed a home-made version of the Russian S-300 missile system and would soon test-fire it. Moscow supported a fresh round of U.N. sanctions against Iran in June, and then refused to deliver an order of S-300s to Iran after persistent lobbying by Israel and the United States. The S-300 is a mobile, long-range air defense system that can detect, track and destroy ballistic missiles,cruise missiles and low-flying aircraft.Tehran has been hit by various international sanctions for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment activities. Uranium can be enriched to produce fuel for nuclear power plants or, if enriched to a higher level, to make atomic bombs.