Iran Considering Russian Antey Anti-Aircraft Missile

Russia has offered its latest Antey-2500 Anti-Aircraft missile to Iran, Rostec said Monday.

The deal comes after S-300 missile surface-to-air contract with Iran was dropped under western pressure, Tass reported.

“Tehran is now considering buying the missiles,” Sergei Chemezov head of Rostec was quoted as saying.

Since the scrapping of the S-300 missile deal, Iran had filed a $4 billion arbitration suit in Geneva although the two nations still remain allies.

"As far as Iran is concerned, we offered Antey-2500 instead of S-300. They are thinking. No decision has been made yet," Chemezov said.

The US and Israel had lobbied Russia to block missile sale to Iran saying that it would be used to sheid Iran’s nuclear facilities from possible air strikes.

The Antey-2500 was developed from the 1980s-generation S-300V system (SA-12A Gladiator and SA-12B Giant). It can engage missiles traveling at 4,500 meters per second, with a range of 2,500 km (1,500 miles), according to Almaz-Antey.

The S-300 missiles have a 125-mile range and Russia has stoked tensions with the West by trying to sell them to Syria and other Middle Eastern countries.

Chemezov told reporters conflicts in the Middle East had helped boost Russian arm sales, according to TASS.

"I don't conceal it, and everyone understands this, the more conflicts there are, the more they buy off weapon from us. Volumes are continuing to grow despite sanctions. Mainly, it's Latin America and the Middle East," he was quoted as saying.

Last year, Russian foreign arm sales totaled $13 billion, he added. Chemezov was sanctioned by the U.S. government in April over Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis.