Russia may give more missiles to Iran

Russia is negotiating the delivery of more air defence systems to Iran despite Western demands for a halt in sales to Tehran over its refusal to stop uranium enrichment. "Contacts between the two countries (on delivery of air defence systems) are continuing and we do not see any reason to suspend them," Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport chief Anatoly Isaikin told reporters Thursday at the Africa Aerospace and Defence-2008 (AAD-2008) exhibition near Cape Town in South Africa. Isaikin said deliveries of Russian anti-aircraft weaponry to Iran were aimed exclusively at increasing its air defence capability and were not subject to international restrictions. Iran recently took delivery of 29 Russian-made Tor-M1 air defence missile systems under a $700-million contract signed in late 2005. Russia has also trained Iranian Tor-M1 specialists, including radar operators and crew commanders. The US and Israel, which say they have kept open the military option against Iran, were alarmed by media reports, which started circulating as early as 2005, on the possible delivery of the state-of-the-art S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran. The advance version of the S-300 missile system, called S-300PMU1 (SA-20 Gargoyle), has a range of over 150 km and can intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft at low and high altitudes. The Islamic republic has conducted several high-profile war games this year, including a three-day of air force and missile defence exercises to conclude Thursday, while promising swift retaliation in the event of any act of aggression against the country. Iran is currently under three sets of relatively mild UN Security Council sanctions for refusing demands to halt uranium enrichment, which it says it needs purely for electricity generation despite Western accusations that the programme is geared toward weapon production.