Delivery of the Second Batch of S-300 Systems to Iran

Two weeks after a Russian official's statement regarding readiness to send the second batch of S-300 systems to Iran, a news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard reported that the "first shipment" of S-300 missiles has arrived in Iran. The Tasnim news agency, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, announced that the "first shipment" of S-300 missiles has arrived in Iran, and Iran has received the "S300-PMU2" system, which is described as "one of the best defensive and anti-aircraft systems in the world today." The news agency did not specify the exact date of the missiles' arrival in Iran in a report published on Tuesday, July 28. Alexander Fomin, head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, had stated on Monday, July 14, that Russia is ready to send the second batch of the S-300 missile system to Iran in the near future. He also mentioned that everything is ready on the Russian side for loading and shipment, and the delivery of the second batch of the S-300 to Iran will occur upon financial payment. Tehran was required to pay $900 million for the complete delivery of this system, which is $100 million more than the previous contract. In April of this year, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the then-spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, announced that the first batch of S-300 missile system equipment had arrived in Iran. Mr. Jaberi Ansari added that other parts of this missile system would also be imported into the country in the future. During the Army Day parade in Tehran on April 29, parts of this missile system were also displayed. Meanwhile, Farzad Esmaeili, commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base of the Army, announced that the S-300 missile system would be operational by the end of the current year. Tehran and Moscow signed a contract in 2007 for the purchase of the S-300 missile system worth $800 million, but Russia refrained from delivering it to Tehran in 2010 following the intensification of international sanctions against Iran. Following the nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group in Geneva, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on the delivery of this missile system to Iran. The S-300 anti-aircraft missile can target aircraft at a distance of 150 kilometers and track 100 targets simultaneously.