No Hurdle to S-300 Delivery to Iran: Russian Source
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – There is no obstacle in the way of delivering Russia’s S-300 anti-missile defense system to Iran, Russian media reported Wednesday.
"There are no problems with the delivery of the S-300 (to Iran). However, there is a number of technical issues which remain unresolved. The work on this issues is underway," Sputnik quoted a source in the Iranian defense ministry as saying on Wednesday.
The remarks came after a Kuwaiti daily claimed that the S-300 deal had been canceled.
On February 17, Russian media reported that the first consignment of S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems was to be delivered to Iran on February 18.
However, one day later, Russia’s Defense Ministry dismissed the reports and said there were still some issues that needed to be resolved.
"The beginning of deliveries of the first consignment of Favorit missile systems cannot take place since the Iranian side has not paid the price enshrined in the contract as of February 16," TASS quoted a high-ranking representative of the Russian Defense Ministry as saying at the time.
Under the previous contract signed in 2007, Russia was required to provide Iran with at least five S-300 defense system batteries.
But the contract, worth more than $800 million, was revoked after then-President Dmitry Medvedev banned the supply of those systems to Tehran in 2010.
Later, Iran lodged a $4 billion lawsuit at an international court in Geneva against Russia’s arms export agency.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided in April to lift the ban on the S-300 missile system delivery to Iran.