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Iran missile deal: officials non-committal

DUBAI: Iranian and Russian officials failed to confirm on Monday whether Russia’s powerful S-300 missiles were being delivered to Tehran.

Referring to reports about the S-300 deal, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi said on Monday that he was “in no position to confirm or deny the reports in this regard.”

The Russian company in charge of exporting weapons was also non-committal about the contract. In a statement Rosoboronexport said: “At present, only systems of a defensive nature are being delivered to Iran, including means of air defence.”

“Previously Tor-M1 systems were delivered to Iran,” it said referring to air defence missiles which are far less sophisticated than the S-300 missiles.

On Sunday, deputy head of the Iranian Parliament’s foreign affairs commission Esmaeel Kossari had said that Russia was in the process of delivering the S-300 systems to Iran. Last week, the Russian RIA-Novosti news agency also reported that Moscow was selling 300 S-300s to Iran.

Analysts point out that the transfer of S-300 missiles would virtually rule out the possibility of Israeli or American air strikes on Iranian nuclear establishments. These air defence missiles, rated among the best in the world, can destroy aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles at long distances.

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