Russia hints it won't sell advanced missiles to Iran

A Russian Foreign Ministry official has suggested Moscow will not sell advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Iran.

Observers have said sophisticated S-300 missile systems could be used by Iran to defend military targets like the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant.

That would make any military strike more difficult, and Israel, the United States and other nations have pressured Russia not to sell such weapons to Iran, Syria or other nations that have threatened Israel.

Outgoing prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he discussed Russian weapons sales during a visit to Moscow this week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko was asked by reporters Thursday whether Russia had promised Israel it would not sell weapons such as S-300s.

"We have declared more than once at the very highest political level that we do not intend to supply those types of armaments to countries located in regions that are, to put it mildly, uneasy," he said. "This is not in the interests of our country's policy or the interests of preserving stability in one region or another of the world."

He said Russia would make decisions on selling weapons systems based on both "preserving the balance of power in the given region, and taking into account the need to provide stability and security in the region."

Iran's president has vowed that Israel should be wiped off the map - and Israel fears that the nuclear program Iran says is to produce power is actually meant to manufacture weapons.