First and foremost, do not believe for one fraction of one second that Iran only wants to develop nuclear power and has no non-peaceful purpose for doing so. They are surrounded by nuclear powers and they see the benefit of having the bomb. Pakistan, India, Israel, the US, Russia, and China are all far more powerful on the world stage right now, and that is in part due to having nuclear capability. Iran wants that power and that respect. They are developing nuclear weapons. To deny it is to be naive, in my opinion.

the rest of the iranian airfleet will crash in the coming months

SO - ISRAEL - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ???., ACT !!!. Arn.

Leads to the article taking cocktail reasons for the termination of pilots requirements.nothing new as such.Keep on wishing what you want to wish.Here,I refer to the first 3 talk-back writers.Have a nice day.

...It might be good...but the S-300 will be defeated one way or the other....as will anything else that the regime puts up... ...and Iran will no longer exist as it is...as will many countries including Israel. Everyone will get it. But my bet's on Iran really going down hard. Some fight put up- but taking a whacking of unbelievable proportions. Dont worry about their "nuclear plans" getting "delayed"! They'll be too busy trying to stay alive - poor bastards...feel very sorry for the average citizens there. I'm sure only a few of them really understand what is coming. What a pathetic regime. Dragging their people to war and destruction...you dont need to be religious. Its coming. Its sick.

if iran says the RUSSIAN PILOTS are not well trained because they cause crashes, can you imagine how many crashes will be had had iranian pilots flown these planes????? iranian pilots, like syrian pilots, both trained by russian pilots are a joke, militarily and in the civilian capacity. why would russian pilots brought in from russia need to fly the iranian fleet of commercial jets if iran possessed many good pilots itself???? one answer. iranian pilots are incompetent and iran didn't trust them with its civilian population. this is the real fact here and this is why russian pilots were imported to fly commercial fleets. think about it...according to iran, it builds all kind of sophisticated weaponry and satelites...but cannot build a commercial jet of their own?????????????????iranian made????? don't you find this interesting in light of all the iranian boasting of their superior technology and discoveries? i do! i am an engineer. i lived and was educated in the top iranian university not too many years ago and i can tell you without a doubt that iranians can't build their own plane and the rumors they have spread around the world about their recent military and space acheivements are all lies born out of fear of being attacked and regime change. they are what you call a pper tiger, a dog that barks out of fear. i know iranian air capabilities and the ability of its pilots, both commercial and military. it never will compare or be able to confront any such teams from europe, nato or israel. never. this is why they bark all the time. it is a sign of fear. except that you wish it wasn't so. but not having lived in iran, you assume that they are all powerful and honest. it could not be further from the truth. hameed aboughaze, iranian

Sir, I wish to thank you very much for your clear and consistent post. It blows a lot of fresh air in the matter of really how powerful is Iran. The free world MUST take strong actions against the mad Ahmadineyad and his Mullahs RIGTH NOW, not only for assuring the world peace, but also to protect the innocent civilian people of Iran against their bad government. Let me consider you as a friend of peace and freedom, and as a proof that the majority of the people in Iran wishes PEACE not WAR. BRAVO IRANIAN FRIEND ! !

Maybe Mahmood, the Russians are not too interested in haveing their technology on display in real time battlefield conditions. If their aircraft are any example. They have a history of submarine failures and Chernobyl is not an endorsement for the reactor at Busheir. Plus they are major weapons dealers and having their weapons shown to be like Yugos or Trabants won't help sales. Any thoughts?

i thank you very much. i care about my iranian brothers and sisters more than you know. the current regime is not only a failure at home economically and socially. it is a disaster for irnians that want to belong to the free world and have connections to the countries that are westernized outside of iran. ahmadin ejad's battle is not the iranians people battle. iranians hate him with passion. they can't wait for him to be hanged from the highest crane in tehran. i can guarantee you this. but we need help. help from the west and powerful usa and israel. hameed aboughaze, iranian

The hue and cry by the Israel's leaders in trying to ensure that the Russians don't deliver the S-300 missile defence system to Iran.Why the secret trips to Moscow,and mention of this defence system on nothing less than 19 meetings held by the Israelis in USA or when they met any Russian delegation overseas.Surprising,isn't it

You bet Mahmood, Israel's leaders have lobbied Russia against this arms sale to a country that has exported weapons and money to commonly acknowledged terrorist organizations and other rougish states with similar aspirations. I continue to be amazed rather than surprised at your insider knowledge about these events. It is quit uncanny Mahmood. Is MI5 aware of your position in these matters? Since you seem to be in the know Mahmood, what is your opinion of why the Iranians appear to be giving the Russians pilots the boot? Do you think that this has, as in the past, any connection to the delays with the Busheir reactor project ???

Iranian Friend, thanks for your response. I agree strongly with your point of view regarding the case of Iran. Regards from Argentina