Russia sends air defense systems to Iran

Despite strong opposition from the United States, Russia began the delivery of Tor-M1 air defense missile systems to Iran.

"Deliveries of the Tor-M1 have begun. The first systems have already been delivered to Tehran," the ITAR-TASS news agency quoted an unidentified Russia defense ministry official as saying.

The high-ranking official didn't say when the delivery was made or how many systems were delivered.

The Tor-M1 is a fifth-generation integrated mobile air defense system designed for operation at medium, low and very low altitudes against fixed/rotary wing aircraft, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicle), guided missiles and other high-precision weapons.

The Russian-Iranian contract, signed in December last year, is the biggest arms deal both countries have ever signed.

Under the U.S..4bn contract, more than 30 Tor-M1 complexes are planned to be supplied to Tehran to protect key military and nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Bushehr, Tehran and in the east of the country.

The U.S. has pressed Russia to stop all arms exports to Iran, as well as ending all nuclear cooperation with the Islamic Republic in order to put more pressure on Tehran to halt uranium enrichment activities.

Russia has consistently defended its weapons trade with Iran, saying that the Tor-M1 sale was legitimate because they would be delivered in accordance with Moscow's international commitments in the nonproliferation sphere and under control by the appropriate bodies.  

In August, the U.S. announced sanctions against seven foreign companies, including two from India and two from Russia, for high-tech business dealings with the Islamic Republic.

The sanctions prohibit the companies from doing business with the U.S. government or acquiring American high-technology items.

Iran denies Western claims that it is working an atomic weapons program, insisting that it has a legitimate right to work on a peaceful nuclear program as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Tor-M1 deliveries came as the United Nations Security Council continued to debate a draft resolution drawn up by Britain, France and Germany that would impose sanctions on Iran after it ignored an August 31 deadline to halt uranium enrichment.

Russia and China, both close economic partners with Iran, oppose tough sanctions favored by other veto-wielding UN members, and has proposed major changes to the European draft resolution.