TEHRAN, March 6. /TASS/. Iran has enough defensive weapons at its disposal and does not currently have any need to purchase the S-400 missile system from Russia, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani said on Monday.
Commenting on whether Iran could receive the S-400 from Russia, Ashtiani said, "Russia is a country with which we maintain high-level relations. However, we have achieved a level of self-sufficiency in defensive weapons." "Should the need arise to acquire this [weapons system], we will do so, but we don’t currently need more weapons," Tasnim News Agency quoted Iran’s defense chief as saying.
On Thursday, Bloomberg reported, citing Israeli and US officials, that Iran was seeking to obtain Russian S-400 air defense systems in a move that Israel said would hinder any potential strike against Tehran’s nuclear program.
In May 2019, Bloomberg reported that Russia had allegedly rejected Iran’s bid to acquire the S-400, fearing that such weapons deliveries to Tehran would serve to escalate Middle Eastern tensions. A military diplomatic source then told TASS that Moscow had not received any such request from Tehran.