Russia is ready to sign its largest arms deal in 30 years, promising to deliver at least $1 billion in warplanes and refueling tankers to Iran.

The deal includes 250 long-range Su-30 fighters, a two-seat warplane that has, in the words of Jerusalem Post, “a wide range of combat capabilities and is used for air patrol, air defense, ground attacks, enemy air defense suppression and air-to-air combat.” It has a maximum range of 3,000 km, but Tehran also plans to purchase refueling tankers that will increase its range to 8,000 km.

This purchase elevates Iran’s air force capabilities to a level comparable with the Israeli air force. According to debkafile, the first of these aircraft will be delivered by the end of this year.

The arms deal may be, in part, a Russian response to the U.S. decision to sell thousands of Joint Direct Attack Munition (jdam) units to Saudi Arabia—technology that upgrades free-fall bombs into guided smart bombs. Russia has sold military equipment to Iran before, including several air defense systems that Iran has deployed to protect its internationally condemned nuclear facilities.

But both the jets and the jdam weapons are a serious concern for Israel. Iran acquiring enhanced warplanes is a direct threat to Israel, but defense officials expressed concern that jdam gives Saudi Arabia the ability to strike installations in southern Israel. “We do not have a way to defend ourselves against this weapon,” a senior Defense Ministry official said, concerned that the weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists. It is a valid concern: Hamas now has millions of dollars in weapons that were supplied to the plo by U.S.-backed initiatives specifically intended to oppose Hamas.

The Russian deal with Iran cannot proceed without the tacit approval of Europe: Some of the Su-30’s systems are French products. According to debkafile, however, President Sarkozy is unlikely to oppose the deal because of his current diplomatic outreach to the Arab world.

So an arms race will continue in the most volatile region in the world, and Russia will provide weapons to the leader who supports al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas—and who has made his plans for holy war public knowledge.

For more information on where Iran’s militarism is headed, please read The King of the South.