Russian Senator Says Iran Sanctions Won't Affect Missile Sale

Mikhail Margelov

A top Russian politician says possible international sanctions against Iran will not affect current Russian contracts with Tehran.

The statement today by Mikhail Margelov, the head of the International Relations Committee of Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, contradicts earlier reports that the sanctions under discussion could prevent Russia from delivering S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, have broadly agreed a new sanctions text aimed at punishing Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, which the West fears is aimed at making an atomic bomb.

On May 20, Russia's top nuclear energy official, Sergei Kiriyenko, said Iran's first nuclear plant, which Russia is building in Bushehr, would go online in August.

compiled from agency reports