Ignoring sanctions, Russia to supply advanced S-300 missiles to Iran
St Louis Star Friday 21st August, 2015
• Deal finalized between Iran and Russia
• Lavrov says US arms embargo on Iran is illegal
• US says sale of missiles is of concern
SEVASTOPOL, Crimea - International sanctions banning the arms shipments to Iran notwithstanding, Russia has said it will go ahead with its plan to sell advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles to the Islamic republic because the embargo is Moscow's "no concern".
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol that Moscow stands only by its own international commitments and "the US sanctions are no concern of ours".
"Above all, with regard to sanctions, this is the decision of the UN Security Council. All other unilateral restrictions imposed (after) bypassing the Security Council in violation of the general norms of the international law are of no interest to us," Lavrov said.
The remarks came after US State Department spokesman John Kirby said that America is concerned about the delivery of the defense system to Tehran.
"We've been making very clearly our objections to any sale of this missile system to Iran, as I said, for quite some time, and we'll continue to monitor it closely," Kirby said.
According to CNN, the advanced S-300 air defense system would mean that US or Israeli warplanes likely couldn't sneak into Iranian airspace if they wanted to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities.
Bombing the S-300 radar and missiles first would give the Iranians a warning that an attack would be on the way.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that Russia and Iran have reached the agreement on the delivery of S-300 surface-to-air missiles.
"As things stand now, this topic is closed. We have reached full understanding on the matter together with our Iranian partners. The question has been fundamentally solved. The rest is just technical details," Bogdanov told official RIA Novosti news agency.
Iran Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said that an Iranian delegation will go to Russia next week to sign the contract.
Russian state arms manufacturer Almaz Antey is supplying a modernized version of the S-300.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in mid-April to lift a ban on the supply of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran.
The decision to deliver the missile systems came after Iran and the P5 plus 1 group of countries reached a mutual understanding on Tehran's nuclear program in Lausanne on April 2.
The recent nuclear deal made it easier for the two countries to realize the delivery of missiles.
The nuclear agreement is under review by Congress, where Republicans are planning to vote against the deal amid concerns that Iran would still be able to obtain a weapon with the agreement in place.
The White House has promised to veto such a resolution of disapproval.
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