Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States criticized on Tuesday Russia's delivery of TOR-M1 surface-to-air missile defense systems to Iran and said the delivery sent a wrong signal.

    "We don't think that it's an appropriate signal to be sending to the government of Teheran at this time, particularly when they are under UN sanctions for trying to develop a nuclear weapon, and when they continue to be in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said at a briefing.

    "We also believe as well that we certainly don't want to see any kind of lethal aid or assistance given to any country that's a state sponsor of terror," Casey said.

    Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday Russia has delivered the TOR-M1 missile defense systems to Iran under a deal signed in 2005.

    Moscow cut a 1-billion-U.S.-dollar deal with Teheran in November 2005 to supply it with TOR-M1 missiles. Russian officials described the missiles as air defense systems that are used only to bring down aircraft and guided missiles at low altitudes but cannot strike ground targets.

    Russia's Interfax said TOR-M1 is capable of simultaneously tracing up to 48 targets and firing at two targets flying at altitudes ranging from 20 to 6,000 meters.

    The United States has accused of Iran being a state sponsor of terrorism and secretly developing nuclear weapons. However, Iran has denied the charges.