TEHERAN, July 24 - RAPSI. Iran's claim against a state-run Russian company over an S-300 missile supply contract is nothing more than a standard contractual procedure, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told RIA Novosti.
The Iranian Defense Ministry and the Iranian Aerospace Industries Organization launched a $4 billion lawsuit against Rosoboronexport (Defense Export Corporation) in the International Arbitration Court in Geneva on April 13, 2011. The lawsuit was filed seven months after then-President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree terminating a missile supply contract in line with UN Security Council Resolution No. 1929, which prohibits countries from supplying conventional weapons to Iran, including missiles and missile systems, tanks, attack helicopters, warplanes and ships.
"The issue of damages under the S-300 missile supply contract is a standard contractual provision," Mehmanparast said. "Such contracts provide that certain conditions must be observed, so in this case it is normal. We have no problems with Russia in this matter."
He added that Teheran is holding talks with Moscow on various aspects of their cooperation, including S-300 missiles, "which is in conformity with the standard provisions of such a contract."
Meanwhile, Iranian experts have said that Iran does not actually seek monetary damages under the lawsuit, but rather the resumption of Russian arms supplies. It hopes the prospect of litigation and large damages will force Russian producers to observe the contract.
The S-300 surface-to-air missiles go by the NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble.