Israeli PM tells Russia's Putin concerns over missile sale to Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone, telling him that his decision to sell advanced missile defense system to Iran will put the region's security at risk.

According to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu expressed Israel's grave concerns regarding the decision to sell S-300 missile systems to Iran.

"This sale will only encourage Iranian aggression in the region and further undermine the stability of the Middle East," Netanyahu told Putin.

The prime minister added in a subsequent statement that the deal was "a result of the framework agreement between Iran and the world powers."

On Monday, Russian officials said that following the framework agreement reached by Iran and the six world powers (U.S., U.K., France, China, Russia and Germany) earlier this month, President Putin signed a decree lifting the ban on shipping S-300 defense missiles to Iran. The parties will hammer out the details of the agreement until June 30.

The move triggered harsh condemnations by Israeli officials, with Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz charging on Monday that the lifting of sanctions from Iran will be "exploited for arming itself rather than the welfare of the Iranian people."

Israeli defense officials believe that the system would help Iran defend itself against a possible future airstrike on its nuclear facilities, which Israeli officials in the past hinted is a possibility, the channel 2 news reported.

On Monday, The United States also 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 U.S. 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."

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.

Israeli officials have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with the framework agreement, which they claim does not requires Iran to forego many of its enrichment capabilities.

Also on Tuesday, Iran welcomed Russia's decision to lift the ban on the air defense missile system to Tehran.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said 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. Endit