Russia has not delivered S-300 missile systems to Iran – source
16:00 | 18/ 03/ 2009
MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti) – Iran has not yet received any S-300
air defense systems under a 2007 contract and the deal depends on the
leadership in Moscow, a Russian military exports source said on
Wednesday.
"S-300 systems have not been yet delivered to Iran under the contract
concluded two years ago. The contract itself, though, is being
gradually executed," the source in the Federal Military-Technical
Cooperation Service told RIA Novosti.
Iranian media have repeatedly reported, citing senior security
officials, that Russia has started delivering elements of the advanced
version of the S-300 missile to Tehran.
"Russia is interested in fulfilling the contract, which is worth
hundreds of millions of dollars," the source said, adding that the
future of the contract would largely depend on the current situation in
international affairs and the position of the Russian leadership.
The latest version of the S-300 family is the S-300PMU2 Favorit, which
has a range of up to 195 kilometers (about 120 miles) and can intercept
aircraft and ballistic missiles at altitudes from 10 meters to 27
kilometers.
It is considered one of the world’s most effective all-altitude
regional air defense systems, comparable in performance to the U.S.
MIM-104 Patriot system.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that military-technical
ties between Moscow and Tehran had always been transparent and
confirmed that S-300 air defense systems had not been supplied to Iran
yet.
"We have delivered to Tehran a variety of equipment for defense
purposes, which cannot destabilize the situation on the region," the
ministry said in a statement.
Iran recently took delivery of 29 Russian-made Tor-M1 air defense
missile systems under a $700-million contract signed in late 2005.
Russia has also trained Iranian Tor-M1 specialists, including radar
operators and crew commanders. The S-300 system is significantly
superior to the Tor-M1.
Commenting on the S-300 deal, Ruslan Pukhov, director of the
Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies,
suggested that the Kremlin regards military-technical cooperation with
Iran as leverage in a political game with the West.
"Moscow is using the S-300 contract, as well as its cooperation with
Iran in general, simply as a tool in a political tradeoff with the
West, rather than as a means to satisfy its fundamental defense and
commercial interests," Pukhov said.
Meanwhile, he said that arms deliveries to Iran are important to Russia
because Moscow is quickly losing its positions on key Asian arms
markets in China and India.
"In these circumstances, it would be unwise to ignore the Iranian
market with its potential demand valued at $300-500 million a year,"
the analyst said.
Pukhov warned that if Russia continued its cautious and two-faced
policy in relation to Iran, Tehran would eventually choose China as key
arms supplier, which could in the near future offer the Islamic
Republic competitive products in all segments of the arms market.