TEHRAN, Dec. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran played down on Saturday an air defense system deal with Russia, saying it was not a secret or sensitive issue, the official IRNA news agency reported. "Iran sells arms to some countries and buys them from others and that there is no need to explain such transactions," Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani was quoted assaying.

    Larijani added the military cooperation between Iran and Russia was not new and should not be viewed as a sensitive issue. It was reported Russia has agreed to sell 29 mobile surface-to-air M-1 short-range missile systems to Tehran in a deal worth more than 700 million US dollars.

    The United States expressed concern on Friday over the deal, saying any arms sales to Iran would be a source of concern for Washington, but the Russian Foreign Ministry explained on Saturday that Moscow just supplied Iran with purely defensive weapons and the deal was not contradictory to Russia's commitments to the international society.

    Washington accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons secretly and labels the country as a threat to regional peace. Enditem