Iranian Ambassador to Rome Mohammad Ali Hosseini called on Russia to abide by an agreement signed between the two countries on the delivery of the sophisticated S-300 air defense missile system to Tehran.

“We hope Russians fulfill their undertakings and do not allow the bilateral relations to be impaired,” Hosseini said on Saturday.

He further noted that some Russian officials have stated the possibility for cancelling the deal with Iran, and cautioned that such a measure would violate the two countries’ previous agreements, reminding that any such move would damage Moscow’s creditability.

“Countries’ creditability in their bilateral and international relations depends on their commitment to their undertakings,” Hosseini said, warning that violation of the Tehran-Moscow S-300 deal would cause Iran’s deep distrust in Russians.

Referring to Iran’s high capabilities in the field of defense industries, he underlined that if Russians refrain from delivering the air defense system to Iran, the country would then resort to its other options, including domestic procurement.

Earlier in November, an Iranian top military commander had announced that Tehran is able to replace the Russian-made anti-aircraft S-300 missiles with other air defense systems in case Russia shrugs off contract terms for the delivery of S-300 missiles to Iran.

“If they do not deliver S-300 defensive system to us, we have replacements and we can supply our operational requirements through innovative techniques and different designs,” Deputy Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base for Coordination General Hassan Mansourian said at the time.

Moscow signed a contract with Tehran in 2007 to supply the powerful S-300 missiles to Iran.

The S-300 surface-to-air system, known as the SA-20 in the West, can track targets and fire at aircraft 120 kilometers (75 miles) away. It also features high jamming immunity and is capable of simultaneously engaging up to 100 targets.

(FARS NEWS AGENCY)