The sale of Russian S-300 missiles to Iran may not take place after all, due to a dispute over the cost of the deal, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday.
According to an unnamed Iranian official who is visiting Russia with a delegation from Tehran to attend the International Aviation and Space Salon, MAKS 2015, “The two sides have failed to agree on the price, so the deal has not been signed.” All of the other issues have been worked out, he added, but differences over the price remain.
In 2007, Moscow and Tehran signed an agreement under which Russia would sell S-300 missiles to Iran. However, following the UN Security Council resolution banning the sale of arms to Iran in 2010 Russia suspended the deal. It returned to the spotlight after Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu visited Iran in January. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in April lifting the ban.