Iran Takes Russia to Court

Iran has filed a complaint with the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration against Russia for Moscow’s failure to honor its agreement to deliver S-300 advanced surface-to-air missiles to Iran [Press TV, 31 August].

“The International Court of Arbitration in Paris settles international commercial disputes, and since the Russian company responsible for the S-300 contract is a non-governmental entity, we filed a complaint with this court in order to compensate our losses,” said Mehdi Sanaei, Chairman of Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Committee.

The $800 million S-300 contract was signed in 2005 and Iran made an initial payment of $166.8 million to receive 65 S-300 missile systems by 2007. Russia delayed the delivery until September 2010 when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated that Moscow would not implement the terms of the agreement, arguing that the delivery of the advanced missile system to Iran was prohibited by the UN Security Council Resolution 1929, the fourth round of UN sanctions resolutions against the country. Iran insists that S-300 system is defensive in nature and consequently not covered by 1929.

Russian officials said they were surprised by Tehran's decision to file the complaint at the international court considering the “traditionally friendly nature of their bilateral relations.”