Moscow to deliver S-300 to Tehran this year

By Sara Rajabova - AzerNews 

Moscow and Tehran has reached an agreement on delivery of the S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system to Iran by the end of 2015.

Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said on August 23 that the Russian side has promised to supply Iran with the S-300 surface-to-air missile systems this year, the Iranian media reported.

He also added that the control systems of the S-300 have been upgraded.

Commenting on signing a new contract with Russia on the issue Dehghan said the previous contract will be updated, noting there is no new contract but the Iranian side added an addendum to the existing contract.

“Some changes were made to the radar and navigation systems of S-300 which has increased the costs and we have to pay these additional costs,” Dehghan said.

However, the Iranian minister earlier announced that a delegation of Iranian officials are set to travel to the Russian capital city of Moscow this week to sign a new contract on the Russian-built S-300 air defense system.

Russian state arms producer Almaz-Antey in June said it would supply Iran with a modernized version of the S-300, among the world's most capable air defense systems, once a commercial agreement was reached.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in mid-April to lift a ban on the supply of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran.

The decision to deliver the missile systems came after Iran and the P5+1 group of countries reached a mutual understanding on Tehran’s nuclear program in Lausanne on April 2.

The recent nuclear deal between P5+1 and Iran, made it easier for the two countries to realize the delivery of missiles.

Under the $800 million contract signed in 2007 by the two countries, Russia was to deliver S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran. However, it cancelled the contract in the wake of UN sanctions.

In turn, Tehran went as far as filing a $4 billion lawsuit against Russia’s intermediary agency for exports and imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services, Rosoboron export with Geneva's arbitration court. Iran said it has no intention to withdraw the lawsuit until it receives the missile systems.

A while ago, Vladimir Kozhin, President Vladimir Putin’s aide on military and technical cooperation said Moscow is working to upgrade the S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system it plans to deliver to Iran.