MOSCOW: Russia announced on Monday that it had agreed to push on with a deal to deliver S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran after having halted an earlier agreement due to UN sanctions.

“The contract between Russia and Iran for delivery of S-300 missile systems is back in force,” the state-run Russian Technologies (Rostec) corporation said in a statement, adding that the two sides had “signed a contract”.

Russia lifted in April a ban on selling the missile systems to Iran, ahead of the Iranian government sealing a final deal with world powers in July to curb its nuclear programme.

Russia argues that the missile system is exclusively defensive and does not even fall under the sanctions.

The Russian government had blocked delivery of the missiles to Iran in 2010 after the United Nations Security Council imposed the curbs barring hi-tech weapons sales to the country.

Iran filed a $4 billion suit at an arbitration court in Geneva over the cancellation of the $800 million order by Russia, which has long been its principal foreign arms supplier.

Russia says it has now offered Iran more modern versions of the weapons but has yet to announce publicly when they will be delivered.

The Russian Technologies said Iran had agreed to drop its legal claims against Russia after the “first part” of the contract would be fulfilled.

Rostec Chief Executive Sergei Chemezov was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying at the Dubai Airshow that the Gulf countries had no reason to feel threatened by the deal for the air defence system.

“This is defence equipment. And we are ready to offer this defence equipment to any country,” he later told Reuters.

“So if the Gulf countries are not going to attack Iran ... why should they be threatened? Because this is defence equipment.”

He said Saudi Arabia had approached his firm “several times”, requesting that it not deliver the equipment.

“Five years ago... even now, up to now... And we said that the S-300 is not capable to attack... to reach the neighbouring countries.”

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2015