The United States on Friday urged Russia to reconsider its decision to
honor its commitment to sell Iran the Tor-M1 air defense missile system.
"We would hope that Russia would take a second look at this issue," State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a news briefing.
Russia said earlier in the day that it would fulfill a contract to supply its
sophisticated Tor-M1 air defense systems to Iran.
"Russia has signed a contract with Iran for the supply of Tor-M1 close-range
air defense systems to Iran," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said. "The
contract will undoubtedly be fulfilled if no major factors interfere."
The contract, worth 1.4 billion U.S. dollars, is the biggest arms deal Iran
and Russia have ever made.
The Tor-M1 unit is an all-weather air defense system intended for fulfilling
air defense tasks at the battalion unit level. It ensures effective protection
from cruise missiles, guided bombs, warplanes, helicopters, and pilotless and
remotely controlled attack aircraft.
The United States has been uneasy toward Russia's military cooperation with
Iran. In addition to a sale of Russian missiles, Washington also demands an end
to Russia's cooperation with Iran in building the Islamic republic's first
civilian nuclear power station.
