Iran Expects Deliveries of Russian S-300 Missiles by Year End

Tehran is expecting to finalize an agreement on deliveries of Russian S-300 air defense systems within a month to ensure the implementation of the 2010 contract by the end of 2015, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Commenting on his meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on the sidelines of the IV Moscow conference on global security, Dehghan said:

"We agreed to discuss all issues related to this contract and prepare an agreement within a month, so that the contract could be implemented by the end of the year."

On April 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lifting the ban on the sales of S-300 air defense systems to Iran.

The Iranian minister also said that the sides agreed to expand bilateral military ties, but did not provide specific details of future cooperation.

Moscow and Tehran agreed on the delivery of five S-300 PMU-1 systems in 2007. In 2010, then-President Dmitry Medvedev put the deal on hold after the UN Security Council introduced an embargo on arms deliveries to Iran over fears the Islamic Republic was developing nuclear weapons.