Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Russia will deliver the S-300 missile systems to Tehran by the end of 2015, said a high-ranking Iranian official.
"We have a contract with the Russian side that is signed," IRIB news agency quoted Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan as saying.
Dehqan further added that Iranian experts are currently being trained in Russia to use the missile system.
Russian state arms producer Almaz-Antey in June said it would supply Iran with a modernized version of the S-300, among the world's most capable air defense systems, once a commercial agreement was reached.
Earlier Iranian media outlets quoted Dehghan as saying Iran will sign a contract with Russia this week to buy four S-300 missile systems.
Russia and Iran concluded a contract in 2007 for the supply of S-300 systems. But, after the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1929, which provided for the imposition of sanctions on Iran, the realization of the contract was suspended.
Iran, in response, filed a claim against Russia at the International Court of Arbitration. Currently, the parties are negotiating on the withdrawal of this lawsuit.
In April this year, Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a decree removing the ban on the supply of these systems to Iran.