Iran says S-300 missile deal with Russia on track

19:55 | 15/ 04/ 2009

MOSCOW, April 15 (RIA Novosti) – There are no obstacles to the
delivery of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Tehran,
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.
"There are no problems with this [S-300] contract," Mehdi Safari said
at the end of his visit to Moscow.
He offered no specifics about the contract’s implementation, but
dismissed concerns voiced by a number of countries over possible S-300
deliveries to Iran.
"After all, these are purely defensive weapons, and any country has
the right to buy them. I believe this could only worry those states
that have plans to attack others," he said.
A Russian arms export official said last month Iran had not yet
received any S-300 air defense systems.
Iranian media, citing senior security officials, have repeatedly
reported that Russia has started delivering elements of the advanced
version of the S-300 missile to Tehran under a 2007 contract.
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.
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.