Russia Starts S-300 Surface-to-Air Missile Delivery To Iran

Russia has started delivering S-300 air defense systems to Iran.

“The contract is being implemented, (deliveries of S-300s) are starting,” Tass quoted Vladimir Kozhin, an aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying Thursday.

Moscow and Tehran signed the deal for the delivery of the missile systems last month.

“This is defence equipment. And we are ready to offer this defence equipment to any country,” Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov said.

Russia in October had stated that they were upgrading the S-300 missile before delivering it 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 in the last week of October.

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 in September.