TEHRAN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said that Iran plans to produce missile defense systems similar to Russia's S-300 system, local satellite Press TV reported on Thursday.
He made the remarks on Wednesday when talking to the reporters about Iran's plan for a military drill which started on Thursday and the country's defense programs.
Asked if Iran has plans to produce an S-300 defense system, Vahidi said "We don't need to produce the S-300 system, but we have plans on the agenda to produce similar weapons," Press TV said.
Vahidi did not give further explanations on the technical capabilities of the missile system.
Iran struck a deal with Russia on buying S-300 systems in 2007, but Russia has delayed the supply of the anti-aircraft missiles.
The S-300 defense system is an advanced mobile system that can travel at more than 2 km per second and shoot down aircraft and cruise missiles from up to 150 km away.
The United States and Israel were trying to persuade Russia not to sell the missile system to Iran because it could foil attempts to hit the country's nuclear facilities with an air strike.
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