TEHRAN- The military and security agreement signed on Wednesday between Tehran and Damascus allows Iran to deploy at least two types of its local-made air defense missile systems to Syria, according to a report published by the Raialyoum newspaper.

Citing “informed sources from Iran and Syria”, the daily said that the agreement has two military and political parts. It said the most important thing in the military part is for Iran to provide Syria with its advanced air defense systems such as the Bavar-373 and Khordad-3 missile systems, which means that the two countries have decided to change the rules of engagement in Syrian airspace and to respond to the repeated Israeli raids on Syrian soil.

Bavar-373 is an Iranian-made long-range surface-to-air system, which was formally unveiled on August 22, 2019. The system is manufactured by the Iranian Defense Ministry. Khordad-3 is an indigenous air defense system, which has an operational range of between 50 and 75 kilometers. Iran has used the Khordad-3 system in the downing of the U.S. Global Hawk drone on June 20, 2019.

Iran and Syria signed the military and security agreement on Wednesday which is aimed at boosting military and technical cooperation and coordination to counter increasing challenges and threats. The agreement was signed by Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri and Syrian Defense Minister Ali Abdullah Ayyoub.

“Continued war against the Takfiri terrorism, which is being supported by certain regional and international powers, is one of the objectives of this agreement,” the two sides said in a joint statement.

The Beirut-based al-Akhbar newspaper also said that the agreement "includes that Tehran develops and strengthens the Syrian air defense systems". The Lebanese newspaper also said that General Bagheri “has discussed in Damascus the importance of the withdrawal of illegal foreign forces [from Syria] and countering the Israeli raids”.

Raialyoum also said the political agenda of the continued American-Israeli pressure is to force Iran to leave Syria, a move that is intended to lay the groundwork for the dismantling of the strategic alliance between the two countries. 

According to the sources of Raialyoum, the Iran-Syria military agreement has delivered a strong message to the U.S and Israel and underlined the strength of this alliance.