MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to Iran's Tasnim news agency, Commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili said that the S-300 systems would be brought into operation by the end of the Iranian year, which ends on March 20, 2017.
The $900-million Russia-Iran contract to deliver five Russian S-300 systems to Iran was signed in 2007. It was suspended after the adoption of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran in mid-2010. In April 2015, Russia resumed talks on the S-300 deliveries following a framework agreement on the landmark deal ensuring the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear program.
Russia and Iran are expected to fulfill the S-300 contracts in 2016, according to the Iranian military officials.