A contract between Moscow and Tehran on the delivery of Russian S-300 missile defense systems to Iran will be signed in the near future, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists on Wednesday. "The negotiations are continuing, the contract will be signed in the near future. All political decisions have been made, there are no obstacles there," Ryabkov said. In 2007, Russia and Iran signed an $800-million deal for the delivery of five S-300 battalions. Moscow suspended the deal after the UN Security Council issued an arms embargo on Tehran amid suspicions that it was creating a nuclear weapon. Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on S-300 deliveries in April, shortly after the P5+1 group of international negotiators and Iran reached a framework nuclear agreement to remove all economic sanctions against Tehran in exchange for its pledge to cut back on uranium enrichment and the number of centrifuges in the country.
