WASHINGTON, DC—Representative Eliot L. Engel, the leading Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to lift a ban on supplying Iran with S-300 air defense missile systems.

“In his latest outrage, Vladimir Putin is threatening to greatly strengthen Iran’s air defenses with a sophisticated Russian radar and missile system. Either Putin is bluffing to gain favor with the Iranian regime and leverage with the West, or he will do it and embolden Iran just as a nuclear agreement is in sight. Step by step, Putin is turning Russia into an outlaw state.”