Germany Purchases Israeli Arrow-3 Missile for 4 Bln Euros

German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, right, receives his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant with military honors in Berlin, Germany, Thursday Sept. 28. 2023. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP) 

German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, right, receives his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant with military honors in Berlin, Germany, Thursday Sept. 28. 2023. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP)
German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, right, receives his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant with military honors in Berlin, Germany, Thursday Sept. 28. 2023. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP) German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, right, receives his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant with military honors in Berlin, Germany, Thursday Sept. 28. 2023. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP)
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Germany Purchases Israeli Arrow-3 Missile for 4 Bln Euros

German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, right, receives his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant with military honors in Berlin, Germany, Thursday Sept. 28. 2023. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP) 

German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, right, receives his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant with military honors in Berlin, Germany, Thursday Sept. 28. 2023. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP)
German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, right, receives his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant with military honors in Berlin, Germany, Thursday Sept. 28. 2023. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP) German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, right, receives his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant with military honors in Berlin, Germany, Thursday Sept. 28. 2023. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP)

Germany on Thursday signed a letter of commitment with Israel to buy its Arrow-3 missile defense system.

This coincides with foreign and domestic criticism over Berlin’s pursuit to acquire the most advanced defense system.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius signed Israel’s largest-ever single defense contract worth roughly 4 billion euros.

The German government would pay from the €100 billion fund special fund Germany created to boost defense spending in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Gallant called the sale “a moving event for every Jew,” hinting at the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany during World War 2.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal “historic.”

“Seventy-five years ago, the Jewish people were ground to dust on the soil of Nazi Germany,” Netanyahu said. “Seventy-five years later, the Jewish state gives Germany — a different Germany — the tools to defend itself.”

Germany plans to start using Arrow in late 2025, with the system then being built up step by step. “We see from the daily Russian attacks on Ukraine how important air defense is in general,” Pistorius added.

The United States government on Thursday approved Israel’s request to export the co-developed Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany. The Arrow system was developed and produced by Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) in partnership with Boeing.

Die Welt website quoted Frank Sauer, senior researcher fellow at Bundeswehr University in Munich, as saying that the Arrow 3 system is “impressive” in a technical aspect, but it launches medium-range missiles outside the atmosphere. This makes it unsuitable for defense against cruise missile systems or Russian “Kinzhal” because these missiles remain in the atmosphere.

Frank Cohn, another military expert from Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, told the website that strategically, this contract has no significant benefit.

Cohn considered that it would have been better if this amount was invested in purchasing defense systems that could thwart Russian “Kinzhal” missiles or in updating the current Patriot system.

The deal makes sense only in the political terms, he added, hinting at the nature of the German-Israeli ties.

Last week, Pistorius and French Armies Minister Sebastien Lecornu showcased contradicting visions regarding the development of Europe defenses during a joint interview with “Le Monde” newspaper.



Nobel Laureate Mohammadi Says Iran Issuing Death Threats

Narges Mohammadi has been jailed repeatedly over the past 25 years - AFP
Narges Mohammadi has been jailed repeatedly over the past 25 years - AFP
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Nobel Laureate Mohammadi Says Iran Issuing Death Threats

Narges Mohammadi has been jailed repeatedly over the past 25 years - AFP
Narges Mohammadi has been jailed repeatedly over the past 25 years - AFP

Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for women's and human rights in Iran, has received death threats from Tehran, the Nobel Committee said Friday.

Mohammadi, who has spent much of the past decade behind bars, was released from Tehran's Evin prison in December for a limited period on medical leave, with her legal team repeatedly warning that she could be re-arrested at any time, AFP reported.

Norwegian Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said in a statement he had received an "urgent phone call" from Mohammadi, 53, who said her life was now in danger.

"The clear message, in her own words, is that 'I have been directly and indirectly threatened with 'physical elimination' by agents of the regime'," he said.

"The threats conveyed to Ms. Mohammadi make it clear that her security is at stake, unless she commits to end all public engagement within Iran, as well as any international advocacy or media appearances in support of democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression," the statement added.

The Committee said it was "deeply concerned" about the threats against Mohammadi and "all Iranian citizens with a critical voice, and call upon the authorities to safeguard not only their lives, but also their freedom of expression."

Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's widespread use of capital punishment and its mandatory dress code for women.

She won the Nobel primarily for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran. Her children collected the award on her behalf as she was in prison at the time.