TEHRAN – Iran is planning to start manufacturing long-range anti-air missiles, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi told reporters on Wednesday.

Vahidi made the remarks when asked if Iran plans to manufacture the S-300 defense missile system.
However, he urged Russia to live up to its commitment to deliver the S-300 missile defense system to Iran.
The defense minister said the S-300 system is a deal between Tehran and Moscow and has nothing to do with the UN resolution against Iran, he stated.
Russia must be held accountable it if for fails to deliver the system, he said, adding that Iran will seriously pursue the issue through special channels.
Russian officials had vowed to announce their official stand on the issue after the UN Security Council meeting, however, they have not done anything so far, he noted.
Asked about possible inspection of Iranian ships under the new sanctions resolution, Vahidi said only one or two countries have called for the inspections of Iranian vessels.
It is very unlikely that those countries which really care about international security agree with this illegitimate demand, he noted.
“If such things happen, the Islamic Republic… has also options to retaliate in kind,” he stated.
On the Zionist regime’s threats against Iran, Vahidi said Israel is not in a position to pose a threat to Iran.
The threats by Israel are only aimed at extricating this regime from the stalemate it is stuck in, he noted