ZHUKOVSKY. Aug 26 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and Iran will sign a contract for S-300 surface-to-air missile systems as soon as they fully agree upon the transaction's price parameters, a source with knowledge of the situation told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.
"The decision on Iran's purchase of S-300s has been made in principle. It remains only to agree upon the contract's value," the source said.
This is precisely the reason why the contract will not be signed at the MAKS 2015 international air show currently under way outside Moscow, contrary to what was planned before, he said.
"Nevertheless, the contract's signature is a matter of several weeks or perhaps even days," the source said.
Iran would like to acquire roughly the same worth of S-300 systems that was indicated in the previous contract, i.e. up to $1 billion, and it has even agreed to lower the purchase volume, he said.
"While the first contract that was annulled envisioned the sale of five battalions, the current one envisions four or even three. But the value of the systems that Russia is currently offering to Iran, that is, S-300V4 Antei-2500, is significantly higher than that of the S-300PMUs, which were originally planned. True, the Antei-2500's performance is significantly higher as well," he said.
Russia and Iran concluded the contract for five S-300PMU systems in 2007, and its unofficial value was $900 million.
After the UN Security Council imposed another set of sanctions on Iran in 2010, then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev prohibited the S-300 sales to Iran. The original contract was annulled, and the systems were disassembled and mostly disposed of. In response, Iran filed a $4 billion suit against Rosoboronexport with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Geneva.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on lifting the embargo on sales of S-300 systems to Iran in April 2015.