Russia Says New Sanctions Won't Affect Missiles Sale To Iran

Russian S-300 air-defense missiles at a training base near Moscow

The Russian Foreign Ministry says new UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program do not oblige Moscow to abandon a deal to deliver surface-to-air missiles to Iran.

Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko made that remark after the Interfax news agency cited an unidentified source in Russia's arms industry as saying Moscow would freeze its unfulfilled contract to sell S-300 missiles to Iran because of the sanctions.

The Foreign Ministry has also said that Moscow will retaliate if the new UN sanctions lead to separate sanctions against Russian companies or individuals. Russia has long supplied arms to Iran.

The S-300 missiles deal is controversial as some Western nations fear Iran would use the sophisticated systems to protect its most sensitive nuclear sites from aerial attack.

compiled from agency reports