MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Iran could receive S-300 missile defense systems from Russia by the end of 2015, country's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said.
No new agreement between Iran and Russia was reached on the issue, but only a complement was added to the previous deal, because some changes were introduced in some parts of the S-300 systems, which increases its costs, the minister was quoted by Iran's ISNA news agency as saying
In 2007, Russia and Iran signed an $800-million deal for delivery of five S-300 battalions. Moscow suspended the deal after the UN Security Council issued an arms embargo on Tehran amid suspicions that it was trying to facilitate nuclear weapons development.
In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on S-300 deliveries shortly after the P5+1 group of international negotiators and Iran reached a framework nuclear agreement with a prospect of removing economic sanctions imposed against Tehran in exchange for its pledge to guarantee the peaceful nature of its nuclear activity.
Earlier in August, the two countries reached understanding on S-300 deliveries, with only some technical details left to consider, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
