Iran received its first shipment of S-300 long-range surface-to-air missiles from ally Russia, Tasnim news agency reported Monday. 

“We had already announced that despite several changes in the time of delivery, the deal is on its path of implementation and today I should announce that the first part of this equipment has arrived in Iran and delivery of other parts will continue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Jaberi Ansari stated. 

Ansari noted that the shipment arrived via the Caspian sea, which borders both Iran and Russia. 

The sale of the S-300, originally conducted in 2007, has been repeatedly delayed due to Western pressure given that UN nuclear sanctions ban the delivery to Iran.

But in April, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lifting a ban on the delivery of the S-300 systems to Iran, explaining that his decision was motivated by Iran’s drive to find a solution in talks over its nuclear program, which led to a controversial nuclear deal last July.

Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan last Tuesday had said the first shipment of S-300 systems would come within the next two months.

There is great concern over the shipment of the S-300 to the leading state sponsor of terror, given the advanced system’s ability to shoot down missiles as well as jets, further defending Tehran’s controversial nuclear program.