Russia to go ahead with Iran missile sale

MOSCOW, June 10 (UPI) -- A sale of anti-aircraft missiles to Iran is not affected by the new sanctions package approved by the U.N. Security Council, Russian officials said Thursday.

The United States and Israel have asked Russia not to deliver the S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, RIA Novosti reported. The contract was originally signed in 2005, and the Russian Foreign Ministry says it will be fulfilled.

Russia and the other veto powers -- the United States, China, France and Britain -- sponsored the fourth-round sanctions. They passed the Security Council with Brazil and Turkey voting against them and Lebanon abstaining.

"Insofar as yesterday's resolution on Iran contains references to specific types of weapons, I can say that no anti-aircraft systems, except man-portable air-defense missile complexes, are included in the U.N. Register of Conventional Arms," Andrei Nesterenko, a foreign ministry spokesman, said.

Russian officials also say the country will continue to assist Iran in the construction of its first nuclear power plant.