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Iranian Delegation Visits Military Locations In Russia Despite U.S. Protests
MOSCOW, March 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A delegation of Iranian military experts on Tuesday visited a missile factory in Izhevsk in eastern Russia as the U.S. stepped up opposition against warming relations between the two countries.
The Iranian delegation notably expressed an interest in the Tor-M1 and Osa ground-to-air missile systems, and were given a demonstration of the weapons, the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported.
These short-range missiles mounted on mobile platforms are designed to be deployed alongside land forces or to protect sensitive locations, according to military experts.
Iran's military hardware has been little updated since the 1979 revolution when Western governments blocked advanced technology transfers to the Islamic republic after the overthrow of the U.S.-backed Shah.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Monday during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Khatami, that Russia stood by its decision to resume conventional weapons exports to Tehran, provoking criticism in Washington.
Russia told the United States last November it was scrapping a secret five-year-old agreement to cease conventional arms sales to Iran by December 31, 2000, prompting the White House to threaten Moscow with sanctions.
Khatami also inspected the International Space Station (ISS) during a visit to Russia's mission control on Tuesday, Iranian News Agency (IRNA) reported.
During the inspection tour to the Space Control Center (TsUP) at Korolyov near Moscow on the second day of his four-day state visit to Russia, Khatami was briefed on the activities of different sections of the center. Khatami also visited two rooms from where space-controllers direct the Mir and ISS stations.
This is Khatami's first trip to Russia since coming to power in May 1997, and the first meeting with high-level talks on issues ranging from the Middle East to the oil-rich Caspian Sea.
In response to U.S. opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov criticized Western media for what he said bias against Russia and Iran. He said on Tuesday that Iranian-Russian relations have not targeted any third country.
He also criticized Western media for ignoring the treaty of political understanding signed between Khatami and Putin in Moscow and said that they (the Western media) did not elaborate on the context of the political treaty which forms the foundation of Iran-Russia relations in the 21st century.
Ivanov said that foundation of Tehran-Moscow relations is in line with the United Nations Charter and international law. The Russian foreign minister added that the two neighbors, with the agreement, have launched good cooperation in helping resolve regional crises and had helped end the six-year civil war in Tajikistan in February 1997.
Iran and Russia, while allied in their denunciations of U.S. hegemony and in opposition to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia, are also engaged in a strong rivalry for influence in central Asia, and especially for the rich resources of the Caspian Sea.
Iran has historically had a contentious relationship with its northern neighbor, with the former Soviet Union backing Iraq in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
But a senior Russian official said Sunday that Khatami and Putin will sign an accord on the Caspian, in what could be a step towards all five of the countries which border the inland sea agreeing over how to share its vast oil wealth.
Tehran is also reportedly hoping to secure from Russia S-300 anti-air defense missiles, Mi-17 helicopters, Su-25 warplanes and army tanks. Much of Iran's equipment was purchased from the United States by the former imperial regime of the shah during the 1970s, including warplanes. Iran has since signed major military contracts with China and North Korea.
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