Russia could cancel missile deal with Iran without financial consequences: report

MOSCOW, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia's possible decision to end a contract on delivering S-300 air defense systems to Iran will not have significant financial consequences for Moscow, the Interfax news agency quoted a Russian government source as saying on Wednesday.

"Although the contract was signed several years ago, Russia has not confirmed its entry into force yet. Therefore Iran has not made any payments under this contract," the source told Interfax on condition of anonymity.

The deal on selling S-300 systems to Iran was frozen indefinitely for a number of reasons almost immediately after it was signed, the source said.

However, Russia is unlikely to terminate the contact unilaterally, he said. "A lot will depend on political circumstances since the contract is no longer seen as a routine commercial deal."

There were no technical problems with fulfilling the contract, the source said. The delivery could be carried out very quickly as the missiles had undergone pre-sale preparations and were currently stored at Russian Defense Ministry depots, he said.

Unofficial information indicates that the Russian-Iranian contract envisions the sale of S-300PMU1 missiles worth some 800 million U.S. dollars.

The S-300PMU1 multi-channel mobile air defense system is designed to intercept modern and projected aircraft, strategic cruise missiles, and other targets flying at up to 2,800 meters per second.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to Moscow for talks, which, according to media reports, focused on the possible sale of S-300 systems to Iran.