A senior Azerbaijani government official announced Dec. 18 that Azerbaijan had reached a deal with Israel to buy the Iron Dome air-defense system . How useful the system will be in Azerbaijan's standoff with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region is uncertain, however. Notably, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees Moscow's arms sales, was in Azerbaijan just before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Dec. 13. Azerbaijan would have wanted to be forthcoming with Russia about what kind of system it was buying from Israel and, more importantly, whether it would challenge the military balance Moscow works to maintain between Azerbaijan and Armenia . The motivation behind the purchase is unclear. Armenia had recently acquired Iskander ballistic missiles, greatly increasing its military capabilities, but the Iron Dome batteries would be useless against the high-flying Iskanders. Azerbaijan already possesses S-300 and Barack-8 systems that are effective against Iskander missiles.