Vladimir Putin has defended his decision to approve the delivery of the Russian long-range S-300 air-defense missile system to Iran, saying a ban imposed in 2010 was voluntary.

The Russian president said during a televised call-in show on Thursday that his decision this week to lift the ban did not contradict international sanctions against Iran, which are still in place despite a framework agreement struck this month between Iran and six world powers over Iran’s nuclear program.

Putin said he made the move because Iran “has shown a great degree of flexibility and a desire to reach compromise”. He said the S-300 was a defensive weapon that should not pose any threat to Israel, and may in fact serve as “a deterrent factor in connection with the situation in Yemen”.

On Monday the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, called his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to object to the move, and the U.S. government said the delivery could complicate plans to eventually lift sanctions on Iran.

The move also drew swift condemnation from the government of Israel, which has lobbied hard against the nuclear agreement.

The missile contract was frozen in 2010 by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s then president, following pressure primarily from the U.S. and Israel.

The embargo followed the passage of UN Security Council resolution 1929 banning the sale to Iran of “battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems”.

Iran had already paid for the missile contract, signed in 2007, and sued for non-delivery.

(Source Guardian)