Roundup: Iran lauds Russia's missile delivery amid West's concerns

Iran on Tuesday welcomed Russia's decision to lift the ban on the delivery of the sophisticated S-300 air defense missile system to Tehran, as the United States and Israel expressed their concerns over the move.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said on Tuesday that Iran expects to receive Russia's S-300 air defense missile system by 2015.

"I believe that the S-300 system would be delivered to Iran in the current year. This would carry the message of stability to the region where Iran plays an important role," Shamkhani was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

Delivery of the air defense missile system is part of mutual cooperation between Iran and Russia, he said, adding that there are high potentials to expand cooperation between the two countries.

Talking in Moscow to the reporters on Tuesday, he expressed the hope that the delivery of the missile system would further solidify and develop the bilateral ties, according to the report.

On Monday, the Kremlin's press service said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to lift the ban on the sales of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran.

Moscow and Tehran signed an 800 million U.S. dollars contract in 2007 to supply Iran with five S-300 systems.

In September 2010, then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev canceled the contract to comply with a resolution of the UN Security Council, which banned the supply of conventional weapons to Iran.

The close cooperation between Iran and Russia is important for protecting regional and international security, Shamkhani said on Monday in a meeting with Secretary of Russia's Security Council Nikolai Patrushev in Moscow.

Independent countries could play an active role in face of growing insecurity and extremism in the world, he said.

Shamkhani criticized some western countries and their regional allies for what he called their "destructive roles" in the region, as they have caused "damage to the regional human and financial resources by violating moral and legal principles."

Also on Monday, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said that Russia's decision indicates the political will of the two countries' officials to improve cooperation in all fields.

"The expansion of cooperation (with Russia) and improvement of cooperation with other neighboring countries in various fields can be very effective in establishing sustainable stability and security in the region," the minister was quoted as saying by Press TV.

The threats posed by non-regional powers and the spread of terrorism in the region necessitates further cooperation between Iran and Russia, the Iranian minister stressed.

However, Israel and the United States criticized Russia's decision to supply Iran with an advanced air defense missile system.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon on Tuesday slammed the decision as a "direct result" of a framework nuclear agreement reached between world powers and Tehran.

"The S-300 deal we're hearing now, which is in fact the Russian approval to resume transactions they suspended in recent years, is a direct result of the framework agreement reached in Lausanne," Ya'alon said during a visit to army units in northern Israel, according to a statement by his office.

"This is something we warned about before any agreements were made," the minister said, adding that Iran is instigating instability in the Middle East by passing weapons to Syria, to the Shi'ite Hezbollah organization in Lebanon and to the Palestinian organizations like Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, as well as the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

On Monday, The United States voiced concerns about Russia's decision to supply Iran with sophisticated air defense systems, expressing hope for continued cooperation over nuclear talks with the Islamic republic.

The State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf said Secretary of State John Kerry raised U.S. concerns once again in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday morning.

"We don't believe it's constructive at this time for Russia to move forward with it," Harf told reporters at a daily news briefing, adding that "We think given Iran's destabilizing actions in the region, in places like Yemen or Syria or Lebanon, that this isn't the time to be selling these kinds of system to them." Endit