Iran to purchase 4 batteries of Russian S-300 missiles

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

A top Iranian military official has said Moscow will hand over four batteries of S-300 missiles to Iran soon.

“Before, we had asked for three batteries of the S-300 missile and now one more has been added,” Mehr News Agency quoted Iran’s Defense Minister Hoseyn Dehqan as saying on August 18.

While speaking at a news conference in Tehran, he added that works are under way to prepare infrastructure for the missiles and Iran will receive it shortly.

President 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.

Dehqan went on to say the two sides concluded talks and practically there was no obstacle to renew the agreement, according to the report.

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.