Arctic Sea: Is this the end of Rico?”

In July 2010, after some hesitation, Moscow announced that the S-300 deal is forbidden by the new UN sanctions.
In December 2005, Russia agreed to sell Iran long-range S-300 anti-aircraft missiles - 40 to 60 launchers with four missile tubes each, radars, and control stations, worth some $1bn (£650m). Together with the shorter-range Tor M1 and the older super-long-range S-200 already provided by Russia, Iran could build a solid anti-aircraft shield able to defend its nuclear facilities against a possible US or Israeli assault, and inflict serious damage to the attacking force.Without the S-300, the Iranians do not have a balanced air defence. Moscow has been withholding the delivery of the S-300 to Iran since 2008, while officials maintained the delays were "technical"..
Iranian officials reacted angrily. Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi demanded that Russia must pay for the damage it has caused by failing to deliver the S-3

In 2009, a deal was allegedly struck between Russian and Middle Eastern businessmen,to evade the' technical' delays of the S-300 missile delivery. Some sources claim the Russian military's weapons industry was implicated in the deal and transferred a number of new missiles to Kaliningrad. However the Kremlin was uninvolved, and apparently the deal was carried out in secret between businessmen from the private sector. After the deal was executed, an intelligence agency learned of the ship's departure with the weapons towards Algeria, a country located on a regularly used route for the transfer of weapons to Iran and Syria. The Arctic Sea docked in Kaliningrad in June to undergo various repairs.
On July 24,2009, the Arctic Sea, manned by a Russian crew and carrying a cargo of what was declared to consist solely of timber, was allegedly boarded by hijackers off the coast of Sweden. The story goes that the hijacking of the 'Arctic Sea' was ordered by the Moscow government.after discussions with other countries to prevent the delivery of the missiles to Iran.