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By Damien Sharkov
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Russia and Iran have agreed terms for the delivery of the Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile system, the director of Russia's state defence contractor said on Monday.
Sergey Chemezov, director of Rostec, addressed the press at the at the Dubai Airshow to confirm the deal. "We are talking about the 300 air defence system and the contract [for that] has been signed," Chemezov said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
Russia's delivery of the S-300 to Iran, initially agreed between the two parties in 2007, has so far not gone ahead due to the United Nation's Security Council voting to introduce tougher trade sanctions in 2010 due to Tehran's refusal to curb its nuclear programme.
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Iran filed a case in international court against Russia for not meeting its end of the deal, but Chemezov added that the country would drop charges once Russia began fulfilling the new agreement.
The Rostec director did not say exactly when the delivery is due to take place but earlier on Monday a colleague of Chemezov's, also attending the Dubai Airshow, told the BBC Russian Service on the condition of anonymity that the Russian side could start deliveries within six months of the contract being signed.
In April Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to suspend the ban on trading military technology with Iran as part of the UN sanctions, several months before the heaviest of sanctions were suspended in June, following Tehran's decision to give international inspectors access to nuclear program.
According to the BBC, the S-300 is a highly capable, long-range surface-to-air missile complex, with fully mobile units that are capable of targeting aircraft and can engage ballistic missiles.
It was first deployed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, however it is currently marketed to militaries with custom upgrades on the dated model, depending on the details of the purchase. It is not known what, if any, modifications have been made to the units to be sold to Tehran.
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