Moscow and Tehran have concluded negotiations on the delivery of the Russia's long-range S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Iran, which should take place "within a short period," said Iranian Deputy Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, on a visit in Moscow on Monday.
"The negotiations were completed successfully. I believe that the delivery of the S-300 will take place in a relatively short time", the Iranian deputy minister was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
"It will be done at the earliest possible opportunity," he added after meeting his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Bogdanov.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has not confirmed the statement, merely reiterating "the importance of maintaining a regular Russian-Iranian dialogue" in a statement on Monday.
So far, Tehran has suggested the end of 2015 as a possible date for receipt of Russia's S-300 missiles, whose sale, banned in 2010 by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, was again authorized in April by Vladimir Putin.
This decision of President Putin displeased many in the West. Washington declared that such sales "do not help" the conclusion of a final agreement with Iran on its nuclear program, while Israel expressed the fear that the sale would "reinforce the aggressiveness" of Tehran.
AFP
