Russia has taken a “principled” decision to sell Iran an improved version of the S-300 air defence missiles and to build a second nuclear reactor at Bushehr, a Russian newspaper reported.
President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to prepare the two proposals for his meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, on Friday on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the Kommersant daily said on Wednesday quoting a source close to the Kremlin.
The source said Russia is ready to supply five batteries of the S-300VM long-range air defence system, also known as Antei-2500.
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The offer comes three years after then President Dmitry Medvedev cancelled a 2007 contract to supply five batteries of S-300PMU-1 to Iran, even though the move was over and above the sanctions imposed on Tehran by the U.S. Security Council.
The deal is conditioned on Iran withdrawing a $4-billion damages suit it filed with the International Court of Arbitration in Geneva against Russia for backing out of the earlier deal, the Kommersant said.
“The Antei-2500 system suits Iran even better than the S-300PMU-1, for it is more effective in intercepting missiles. If Iran is attacked, it will be primarily with missiles,” said military expert Vladimir Yevseyev of the Centre of Sociopolitical Studies.
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Experts said Russia is cementing ties with Iran in response to recent U.S. push for regime change in Syria.