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Iran MPs urge Russia to deliver S-300

Iran Materials 4 October 2010 10:26 (UTC +04:00)
A number of Iranian lawmakers have called on Russia to commit itself to its previous agreements with Iran and deliver the S-300 anti-aircraft systems.
Iran MPs urge Russia to deliver S-300

A number of Iranian lawmakers have called on Russia to commit itself to its previous agreements with Iran and deliver the S-300 anti-aircraft systems.

According to the MPs, Moscow decided to drop the plan under pressure from certain Western countries, Press TV reported.

Deputy head of the Parliament (Majlis) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hossein Ebrahimi said on Saturday that Tehran can lodge a complaint against Moscow for breaching its S-300 defense systems contract.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last Monday that the S-300 supplies "fall under the ban introduced by the UN Security Council (UNSC)," and it would violate Resolution 1929, which was ratified a few months ago in the UNSC.

Top Iranian officials have criticized Moscow's yes-vote on the new round of sanctions against Iran as well as its about-face on the contract that Kremlin blames on the resolution.

However, the Islamic Republic says the S-300 system is a stop-gap measure and it has plans to develop its own long range anti-aircraft missiles.

Under an 800-million-dollar contract signed in 2005, Russia was required to provide Iran with at least five S-300 systems. However, the contract's implementation was delayed until the UNSC adopted Resolution 1929 against Tehran.

Following the resolution, Russian authorities began making conflicting statements about how the new sanctions would affect the contract.

Iran criticized Russia, saying that since Resolution 1929 does not specifically ban the delivery of defensive missiles, Moscow has no excuse for refusing to commit to the deal.

The S-300 missile defense system is capable of shielding Iranian nuclear sites from potential Israeli airstrikes.

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