Russia To Upgrade S-300 Missiles System Meant For Iran

Russia is working on upgrading the S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system before delivery to Iran.

"The Russian-built S-300 air defense system will be modernized before being delivered to Iran, given the fact that the original contract was struck a long time ago," said Vladimir Kozhin, President Vladimir Putin’s aide on military and technical cooperation, on Thursday to an Iranian news agency Press TV.

Details of the upgrade were however not made public. 

Last month, Yan Novikov, the chief executive of Russian Almaz-Antey, confirmed the removal of all restrictions on S-300 deliveries to Tehran. "All restrictions have been lifted by the political authorities. When there is a contract, we will supply the system, including to Iran," Novikov said.

Putin signed a presidential decree on April 13 making way for the long-overdue delivery of the missile defense system to Iran.

The decision to deliver the missile system came after Iran and the P5+1 group of countries - the US, France, Britain, China and Russia plus Germany - reached a mutual understanding on Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2.

Moscow had banned the delivery of the S-300 system to Tehran in 2010 under the pretext that the agreement it signed with Iran in 2007 was covered by the fourth round of the UN Security Council sanctions against the country over its nuclear program. The resolution bars hi-tech weapons sales to the IS militants.