FRYAZINO (Moscow Region), October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is not supplying S-300 defensive surface-to-air missile systems to Iran, a Russian deputy prime minister said on Wednesday.
"Presently, there are no such supplies," Sergei Ivanov told reporters.
He offered no clue as to whether supplies could begin later.
Last Thursday, the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation said Russia had no plans to cease military cooperation with Iran.
The statement came amid media reports that Russia could cancel a contract to deliver S-300 systems to Tehran.
An unnamed defense industry official said last Wednesday that Russia would sustain significant losses if it decides to tear up the contract for S-300 systems.
Russian military analyst Konstantin Makiyenko previously said a decision not to go ahead with the contract would cost Russia about $1 billion in lost profits, plus $300-400 million in fines and penalties.
Reports of possible deliveries of S-300 missiles to Iran have aroused concerns in the West and in Israel.
Iranian media, citing senior security officials, have reported that Russia has started delivering elements of the advanced version of the S-300 missile under a 2005 contract. However, Russian arms industry officials have invariably denied such reports.
The latest version of the S-300 family is the S-300PMU2 Favorit, which has a range of up to 195 kilometers (about 120 miles) and can intercept aircraft and ballistic missiles at altitudes from 10 meters to 27 kilometers.
It is considered one of the world's most effective all-altitude regional air defense systems, comparable in performance to the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot system.
