Official Start of Iran's Withdrawal of Complaint Against Russia Over S-300

The assistant to the President of Russia for military and technical cooperation stated that Iran is in the process of withdrawing its complaint against Russia regarding the S-300 missile system, adding that Russia has so far delivered only 'about one unit' of this defense system to Iran. According to Vladimir Kozhin, Russia will send several more units of the S-300 missile system to Iran by the end of the current year, 2016. Kozhin did not clarify what he meant by 'about one unit' of the S-300 missile system. He also addressed the issue of Iran's withdrawal of its complaint, which is Russia's main condition for delivering the missiles, stating that Iran has officially begun the process of withdrawing its complaint by submitting documents to the International Arbitration Court in Paris. The Interfax news agency quoted the assistant to the Russian President as saying that Russia and Iran have signed a contract, and the first unit of this missile system has been delivered, with Russia expected to fulfill the remaining commitments under that contract by the end of the year. He noted that the exact number of missiles was not specified in the signed contract. The news of the delivery of only 'about one unit' of the S-300 missiles was confirmed by a Russian official, while Iran showcased one unit of this Russian air defense system during the Army Day parade (April 29). The contract for the purchase of the S-300 missile system by Iran from Russia was concluded in 2007, but after the onset of Western sanctions against Iran, Russia refused to deliver these missiles and adhere to the contract, which led Iran to file a lawsuit against Russia. In this lawsuit, Iran sought $4 billion in damages. However, in April of last year, shortly after the Vienna nuclear agreement, Russia announced, under the order of Vladimir Putin, that it would deliver the missiles to Iran, but this was contingent on Iran withdrawing its complaint. Over the past year, Russian and Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that the delivery of the S-300 defense system to Iran is underway and will begin soon. Iranian domestic media reported on April 23, just days before the Army Day parade and the public display of the S-300, that the first batch of S-300 equipment had been delivered to Iran. The Young Journalists Club also published images of the transfer of some military equipment in the port of Anzali, claiming that several trucks were transporting the S-300 to Iran. Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated after the news broke, without confirming the transfer, that a new agreement between Iran and Russia is in the process of being implemented. Despite the fact that the arrival of these missiles was not clearly confirmed by Iranian officials in April, Iranian media reported that the S-300 missile system was loaded in the port of Astrakhan, Russia, in March and entered the port of Anzali, Iran, in April. After reports of receiving the S-300 in April, a Russian official denied it, stating that Iran had not yet paid Russia any money, and therefore no missiles had been delivered. Vladimir Kozhin, the assistant to the Russian President for military and technical cooperation, is the first Russian official to confirm the arrival of 'about one unit' of the S-300 defense system. However, it is unclear what constitutes 'about one unit' of the defense system and whether a complete system has been delivered. The S-300 is not classified as an unauthorized weapon by the United Nations Security Council, and Iranian officials have repeatedly emphasized that this is a defensive system and that they do not need permission to purchase it. Israel and the United States were the main opponents of this contract and the sale of these missiles to Iran.