I should be really interested to see how the Chinese would react if Iran asked them for an S-300 system equivalent. My impression is that the Chinese will sell anything to anyone, no matter how the USA feels about it. It’s not state of the art, anyway: Russia itself uses the S-400 (‘Triumf’) system. There was recently talk of Russia seeling the S-400 system to Saudi Arabia, but as you can imagine, Israel stomped on that pretty hard, see here – RB
Russia still studying S-300 deliveries to Iran
Press TV, Nov 12 2009
A senior Russian military official says Moscow is still reviewing the possible delivery of the S-300 air defense systems which it signed a contract in Dec 2005 to deliver to Iran. RIA Novosti quoted Konstantin Biryulin, Russia’s Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, as saying on Thursday:
The issue of S-300 deliveries is still under discussion. There are some technical and other problems. I do not understand why there is so much media frenzy over the deliveries of S-300 to this region. Russia has the right to decide on its own whether to deliver these systems to any country which is not under UN Security Council’s sanctions.
Iran’s Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in a Wednesday interview with ILNA news agency that Moscow has a contractual obligation to deliver the advanced S-300 air defense systems to Tehran:
We have made a deal with the Kremlin to buy S-300 defense missiles. We don’t think Russian officials would want to be seen in the world as the ones who breach the contract.
Iran’s top general raps Russia over S-300
Press TV, Nov 13 2009
A top Iranian commander has criticized Russia for its procrastination over delivery to Iran of the sophisticated anti-aircraft system known as S-300. Chief of Staff of Iran’s Joint Armed Forces Hassan Firouzabadi said Tehran was upset about Moscow’s failure to supply Iran with the S-300 surface-to-air missile system. Firouzabadi, who is also a member of the Supreme National Security Council, warned that Moscow’s hesitance to deliver the system to Tehran could harm their own security, as Russia’s security was tied to Iran’s. Firouzabadi questioned Moscow’s motivation for the delay, adding that under a contract signed between the two countries, the Russian government was expected to supply Iran with the system aimed at boosting the country’s defensive capabilities. Urging Russia to expedite the process of delivery, the top commander asked:
Don’t Russian strategists realize Iran’s geopolitical importance to their security? The delivery is more than six months overdue.
