Russia: There is no problem in delivering the S-300 missile system to Iran

Dmitry Rogozin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, stated on Friday, April 20, that there are no problems or obstacles regarding the delivery of the S-300 missile defense system to Iran. According to Itar-Tass, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia expressed that there are no issues causing problems in this regard and that the contract has been completed. However, Dmitry Rogozin did not answer the question of whether the delivery of the S-300 defense system has begun, stating that the delivery schedule for the missile system is specified in the contract. Iran and Russia signed a contract in 2007 for the purchase of the S-300 missile system worth $800 million, but the delivery of this system has been postponed multiple times. Initially, due to the escalation of international sanctions against Iran, Russia announced in 2010 that it would refrain from delivering this missile system to Iran. In response to Russia's action, Iran filed a complaint in international forums seeking $4 billion in damages from Moscow. However, following the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers in Geneva to resolve the nuclear dispute, last year, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, lifted the ban on sending the S-300 missile system to Iran. In this context, it was announced that late last February, coinciding with the visit of Hossein Dehghan, Iran's Minister of Defense, he would participate in the ceremony for the delivery of the S-300 missile systems to Iran, which would be held in Astrakhan. Hours after these reports were published, a Kremlin official stated that since Iran had not paid for this missile system, 'the start of the delivery of the first batch of S-300 MU-2 missile systems is not possible.' However, some Israeli media reported that after Tel Aviv provided Russia with documents showing that the Islamic Republic had delivered weapons systems made by this country to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the President of Russia suspended the delivery of the S-300 systems to Iran again.