"Contracts have been signed, and they are being implemented -- they have not been torn up," head of the Federal Agency for Military Cooperation Mikhail Dmitriyev told Russia's Ria Novosti news agency.

The official, however, fell well short of providing a clear delivery date for the system, which the Islamic republic could use to protect its nuclear facilities from airstrikes.

Iran has accused the United States of trying to scupper the deal for fear that Iran may reverse- engineer the system.

Angered by delays in the delivery, Tehran has threatened to build its own missile defense system if Russia caved into Western demands to resist the missile sale.

Russia signed a contract with Iran on the supply of at least five S-300 air defense systems to Tehran in December 2005. The deal though has yet to be finalized with the West pressuring Moscow to distance itself from Iran in a dispute over its nuclear program.

Russia has since then refused to rule out delivering the S-300 anti-aircraft systems.

Both the United States and Israel have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the nuclear program spat.

Earlier this week a senior cleric in the Revolutionary Guards threatened again that Iran would strike with missiles fired at "the heart of Tel Aviv" if it were attacked by Israel.

The threat was coupled by similar warnings from the country's defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi, who said Iranian intelligence was "preventing Israel from engaging in any type of adventure," according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The S-300 system, which can shoot down cruise missiles, track targets and fire at aircraft up to 90 miles away, features high jamming immunity. It is able to simultaneously track up to 100 targets.

Mounted on a truck, the S-300MPUM1 can fire missiles traveling at more than 2 kilometers per second, experts say.

Iranian officials have not indicated what type of land-to-air-missile defense system they can manufacturer in replacement of the Russian order.

Iranian officials have said Tehran could seek recourse with an international court and sue Russia should Moscow refuse to fulfill its commitments on the delivery of the S-300 system.

Washington has been urging Russia to support tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, which the West suspects is intended to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran, though, has repeatedly spurned the claim, saying it is for power generation only.

related report
Russia woos Colombia with anti-terror aid
Russia, on a vigorous arms export drive dressed up as a charm offensive in Latin America, is wooing U.S. ally Colombia with the aim of forging critical intelligence, military and counter-terrorism ties with the Latin American nation.

Russia has already made significant advances politically and commercially in the region, selling military hardware and offering advanced technical aid to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and building links with other nations on the continent.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Chavez last week and signed a range of contracts that will put Russia firmly in the inner circle of Chavez's beleaguered government.

Putin visited Caracas at a time of mounting problems for Chavez, whose populist agenda is being challenged by domestic unease over chronic electricity and water shortages. A prolonged drought is mainly to blame, but opposition critics also fault the government's management of the emergency over depleted water reserves, required to run the national grid's power generation turbines.

The Russian-Venezuelan tie-up was widely predicted after Moscow opened a credit line for Chavez to buy Russian replacements for obsolete military hardware. But moves by Moscow to win over Colombia are a relatively new development, analysts said.

Colombian officials said President Alvaro Uribe would be accorded an exemplary state welcome in the Kremlin when he visits the Russian capital.

Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister Jaime Bermudez visited Russia to prepare for the visit, which coincides with the 200th anniversary of Colombia's independence and marks 75 years since Colombia and Russia established diplomatic relations.

Colombian officials said Russia had stressed shared interest in fighting terrorism, comparing its own war on dissident groups with Colombia's guerrilla groups.

Russian officials said Moscow was interested in extending collaboration on fighting terrorism, a reference to a Russian decision to extradite to Colombia the former Israeli army officer, Yair Klein, accused of terrorist actions in Colombia. The Russian move was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights but praised by Colombia.

"The decision from the European Court is a black day for human rights in the world, since it favors impunity for those who committed criminal actions such as Mr. Klein and his paramilitary pupils in Colombia. It simply denies truth and justice to their victims," said Bermudez.

Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos said earlier the non-binding court decision would deny justice to victims of the paramilitaries. The Colombian government is protesting the ruling against the extradition of Klein, who is accused of training right-wing militias in Colombia.

Klein is jailed in Moscow on Colombia's extradition request. The European Court opposes his extradition, arguing he would not receive a fair trial.

Colombia is also awaiting the results of a U.S. move to secure the extradition from Thailand of Russian Viktor Bout, accused by Bogota of trying to sell weapons to the Colombian guerrillas FARC.

Russian diplomats have pushed with Colombia the argument that Bogota's problems with the armed rebels are similar to threats faced by Russia from Chechen and other guerrilla groups.

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