Boroujerdi: Iran sees no obstacles for new Russian arms deals

At the same time, he added that the military was to make decisions on that matter, TASS reported.

“We have been maintaining military cooperation for many years,” the senior Iranian lawmaker said, particularly pointing out that Tehran had purchased S-300 missile systems from Russia. “It [the supply of S-300 systems] was indeed a key point of our cooperation. The military should make decisions concerning future weapons supplies. From the political standpoint, there are no obstacles,” Boroujerdi said when asked if Tehran was mulling the possibility of purchasing more weapons from Russia.

While speaking about defense cooperation between the two countries, he highlighted successful interaction in Syria. “We had a joint operational headquarters in Damascus, so military officers from the two countries communicated with each other, exchanged views and information,” he said. “I believe that the Syrian events proved to be a culmination of our military cooperation,” Boroujerdi concluded.

Russia and Iran singed a contract on the delivery of S-300 air defense missiles systems in 2007 but its implementation was suspended in 2010. In April 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a ban on the supply of S-300 systems to Iran and in November that year the contract came into force. In October 2016, a source in Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said that the delivery of S-300 systems to Iran had been completed.

The S-300 is an anti-aircraft missile system capable of destroying modern and advanced aircraft, including planes using stealth technology, as well as medium-range ballistic missiles, tactical and cruise missiles, radar surveillance and guidance aircraft, reconnaissance and strike complexes.