Iran Denies Requesting Russia for S-400 Air Defense System

Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, has clarified that Tehran has never asked Russia to supply the S-400 air-defense system, The Caspian Post reports, citing Mehr news agency.

In an interview with local Iranian TV on Friday, Ambassador Jalali referred to Russia's positions in the imposed Israeli-US 12-day war, saying that "From the very first day, we witnessed that Russia adopted strong and robust positions against the Zionist regime [Israel]. The country issued three statements and also adopted specific positions in the Security Council."

The diplomat added, "On the first day of the war, they requested a telephone conversation with [President Pezeshkian], and on the second day, Foreign Minister Araghchi had a telephone conversation with [Foreign Minister] Lavrov."

He continued that, "One day after the end of the war, Araghchi came to Moscow and met with Mr. Putin. Mr. [Ali] Larijani and the [Iranian] defense minister also traveled to Moscow."

The Iranian ambassador to Russia continued by referring to the discussions surrounding the purchase of the S-400 defense system from the country, saying that "Someone must provide a document showing that the Islamic Republic of Iran has requested to purchase the S-400 from Russia."

The ambassador furhter hailed Russia for declaring the European states' attempt to trigger the snapback mechanism against Iran as illegal.