Problems preventing delivery of S-300 missiles to Iran are resolved

Moscow, August 20, IRNA - Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and African countries Mikhail Bogdanov said that all issues pertaining to delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran are now removed. 'We have reached complete agreement with our Iranian side and the issue has been resolved in principles, but there are still some minor technical issues left which should be removed,' he said quoted by Rossiya Segodnya on Thursday. It also quoted an official in Iran's embassy in Moscow saying a delegation from Ministry of Defense is to visit Russia in the future. According to an official at the ministry, Tehran hopes the S-300 missile system to be delivered mostly 40 days after signing of new deal with Moscow, said the Russian media. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow never pays attention to the sanctions imposed by the US for delivery of S-300 missiles to Iran. Rossia Segodnya, Russia's state-run media conglomerate, also quoted a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying the delivered S-300 systems will be equal to the number mentioned in the contract signed by the two sides. Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on the S-300 supplies to Iran in April 2015 when six world powers confirmed significant progress after talks with Iran on the nuclear program in Lausanne, Switzerland. Under the 2007 contract, Moscow pledged to deliver to Tehran five S-300 medium-range air defense systems worth $800 million. Iran made an advance payment of $166.8 million.