MOSCOW, June 11 (UPI) -- Russia Friday for the first time signaled it might scrap the controversial sale of a missile system to Iran.
A Kremlin official told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that the S-300 air defense missile system that Moscow had long wanted to supply to Iran falls under the new sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic by the U.N. Security Council.
"The S-300s fall under these sanctions," the source said, adding that the weapons as a consequence could not be supplied to Iran.
Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian Duma's foreign affairs committee and a reliable source of official Kremlin policy, said while the S300 as a defense system might not fall under the resolution, it would seriously undermine its spirit.
"In the circumstances, I am opposed to fulfilling this contract," Kosachev was quoted as saying on his Internet blog.
This is a major policy reversal for Moscow, which in the past days had vowed to go ahead with the delivery of the S300 (NATO designation SA-20), a deal that is strongly opposed by the United States, Israel and the European Union.
The S300 is considered to be one of the world's most advanced air-defense systems. It is able to shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft from 90 miles away and can intercept aircraft or ballistic missiles at altitudes ranging from 30 feet to 16 miles. A delivery of the system would make any air attack on Iranian nuclear facilities extremely hazardous and costly.
Iran has blasted the new sanctions, which ban large attack weapons sales and put financial pressure on the regime, as not capable of hurting the country.
The sanctions include an increase in the number of Iranian officials and companies who would be subject to travel bans and asset freezes; restrictions in financial transactions involving Iranian banks; and allow for inspections of ships suspected of trying to evade the embargo.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad likened the sanctions to a "used handkerchief" that would be thrown in the trash.
The Security Council voted 12-2 in favor of the new sanctions scheme, with Brazil and Turkey giving the opposing votes. Lebanon abstained.
The West and Iran are embroiled in a years-long conflict over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. While world powers fear Iran is on the way to a nuclear weapon, Tehran says the program is used for civilian energy purposes only.
The regime raised further suspicion, however, when it announced this year that it planned to enrich uranium to 20 percent, seen as a technological milestone in the path toward a nuclear weapon.
