Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow has removed its moratorium on the sale of sophisticated air defense missiles to Iran and will soon move forward with the deal as originally planned. Putin also said the two countries have begun an oil-for-goods barter program, Reuters reported.
While no timetable for the delivery was announced, an official at the Russian defense ministry told Interfax that Russia will "promptly" begin to supply Iran with S-300 surface-to-air missile systems.
An $800 million missile defense deal was suspended five years ago due to United Nations sanctions and pressure from the West, but now that world powers are on the brink of reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, Russia looks to be positioning itself to benefit from the lifting of sanctions and ensuing international trade.
The S-300 system is capable of shooting down multiple targets at once and can target aircraft or missiles flying more than 16 miles high, according to the American Federation of Scientists. Iran would be well defended against any possible future strikes against its nuclear facilities, which could occur if the country is found to be in violation of the terms of a nuclear agreement reached between it and the P5+1 world powers.
"If Russia fulfills its commitment to deliver the S-300 missile system to Iran, it will be a step towards boosting the relations and collaborations between the two countries," deputy Iranian defense minister Reza Talaienik told the Tasnim News Agency on Monday, reported The New York Times. "It will be a step forward" and will "definitely help to strengthen Iran's ties and interactions with Russia."
Israel on the other hand, was less than thrilled to hear about the deal. "As Iran rejects one clause after the other in the outlined [nuclear] deal that was announced last week, the international community has begun easing the restrictions on it," Yuval Steinitz, Israel's minister for strategic affairs, said in a statement, according to the Times. "This is a direct result of the legitimacy Iran has received from the nuclear deal," he said, adding that it's proof "that the expected boost in Iran's economy which will follow the lifting of the sanctions will be used for arms and not for the well-being of the Iranian people."
Another Russian official told Reuters that Moscow also started supplying Iran with grain, equipment and construction materials in exchange for crude oil. One source told the news agency that a $20 billion deal was at one point on the table, which would see Russia buying some 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil per day in exchange for Russian goods.
It was revealed Monday that China will also soon receive Russian military technology. Russia's major arms exporting company Rosoboronexport disclosed that China recently became the first foreign nation to purchase the upgraded S-400 missile defense systems from Russia. The S-400 replaced the S-300 in 2007, and is capable of launching 72 missiles and engaging up to 36 targets simultaneously, according to the Tass Russian News Agency.
