Russia may return to 2007 contract on S-300 air defence system supplies to Iran

Russia may return to the 2007 contract on the supplies of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran banned in 2010 now that a political decision was made, Head of the Center for Analysis of Global Arms Trade Igor Korotchenko said on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday to lift the ban on the supplies of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran.

A week ago, the Center for Analysis of Global Arms Trade said Russia could supply S-300 air defense systems to Iran.

"The decision was made by Vladimir Putin considering the developments around Iran and in the world as a whole," Korotchenko told TASS.

"Let me remind you that the decision to give up the contract was made by then-President [Dmitry] Medvedev and it was a purely Russian decision as S-300 systems did not fall under the bans of the UN Security Council," Korotchenko said.

The expert said that instead of the Antey-2500 version, now the talk was most probably about the S-300 system in the configuration that would suit Iran and on which it originally insisted.

"Two options are possible: either a return to the contract signed earlier or quick negotiations on specifying the parameters of a new deal, which will be broadly based on the terms of the previously concluded contract," Korotchenko said.

When asked about how many S-300 regiments Russia could supply to Iran, the expert said it would supply as many regiments as the Iranian side would ask.