Non-Subscriber Extract
Iran lobbies Moscow for missiles to arm new air defence unit
By Lauren Gelfand and Vladimir Petrov
18 February 2009
Iran's defence minister made a day-long official visit to Moscow on 16 February to press again for the sale of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Tehran to go forward, amid a restructuring of the Iranian military aimed at strengthening air defence capabilities.
Iran signed a contract with Russia in 2005 to purchase 29 Tor-M1 low- to medium-altitude surface-to-air missiles under a USD700 million contract; they were delivered during 2006 and became operational in early 2007.
Talks are under way for the complementary purchase of the medium-range Buk-M1 system, according to press reports from Russia.
At the same time, Tehran has expressed repeated interest in up to five units of the S-300PMU-1 (SA-20A or SA-20 Gargoyle) or S-300PMU2 Favorit systems and has moved to sign a contract that thus far has remained unimplemented owing to substantial political pressure on Moscow from both Washington and Tel Aviv.
A spokesman for the Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport told the Commersant newspaper that "nothing has changed" with respect to the delivery of the S-300 system to Tehran before the visit by Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar, "and it will hardly be changed even after [his] visit".