Article Posted on : - Feb 08, 2010

A file photo of S-300 air defence systems of Russia.

TEHRAN (AFP): Iran boasted that it is manufacturing a home-built air defence missile system which would be better than the Russian S-300, which has been ordered by Tehran but yet to be delivered by Moscow.

"Today, we are building all our air defence weapons by ourselves ... the only thing we wanted to import was the Russian S-300 which so far they have not delivered for some unacceptable reasons," senior airforce commander Heshmatollah Kasiri was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency on Monday.

"But our air defence experts and scientists found a way and in very near future we will produce an air defence system which has the capabilities of the Russian S-300 or even more."

Kasiri's comments come after Iran in late November threatened to take legal action against Russia if it fails to honour a deal to supply Tehran with the S-300, an advanced air defence missile system.

Russia, Tehran's sole ally among world powers, has so far not delivered the system, in a delay which Iranian officials blame on growing pressure on Moscow from Washington and Iran's arch-foe Israel.

In October, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that Iran had not yet paid for the missile system because Moscow has not given its final approval for the deal, which had set alarm bells ringing in the West.