sys-
tems from Russia a decade ago if it had just stopped trying to bargain down the price and accepted Moscow’s proposal, military analyst Lt. Gen. Leonid Sazhin, who had supervised the deal at the time, told ITAR-TASS last Thursday.
In the end, Sazhin said, Iran signed a contract in 2007 to pay $800 million, just what Russia offered the system for in 1999.
“Negotiations on the sale of Russian S-300 systems to Iran began in the late 90s, in 1999 to be precise, and continued for several years. This issue was discussed repeatedly during direct talks between the two countries’ defense ministers. The leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran asked the Russian side to supply one battalion of S-300PMU-1 and train Iranian servicemen to operate the systems,” the general recalled.
“Russia agreed and asked for about $800 million, but Iran’s military leaders were not happy with this figure and for several more years they tried to cut it down. Naturally, this did not suit Moscow. The haggling lasted until 2007, when finally Iran backtracked and agreed to accept Russia’s original offer, a contract worth $800 million. The deal was made, but by that time it was too late,” the general told ITAR-TASS.
In his view, the contract was broken by Iran’s uncompromising position and its nuclear activities, for instance, the construction of a uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, which was revealed last year, and Iran’s rejection of the proposal concerning fuel for the Tehran reactor.
“Iran’s severe resistance to the international community, and especially its disregard for Moscow’s stance, exhausted Russia’s patience,” he said.
The fact that Russia and Iran began bargaining over the S-300 in 1999 was an interesting tidbit. Russia had promised the United States in the mid-1990s not sell Iran any new weapons systems. So it was bargaining with Iran while under that no-sale pledge.
In August 2000, Russia renounced that pledge amid reports that Iran was prepared to buy $7 billion worth of Russia arms.
The no-sale deal had been negotiated by then Vice President Al Gore and Russia renounced that agreement in the middle of the 2000 presidential campaign, leaving many to assume Moscow was trying to sabotage Gore’s campaign and help George W. Bush.
In the end, Iran has bought next to nothing from Russia’s arms manufacturers. The only big sale was a block of helicopters worth a few hundred million dollars.
Russian officials have often complained that Iran keeps trying to knock down the prices of goods, often offering Russia amounts that come to less than the cost of manufacture.