DAMASCUS: A senior Iranian official says new UN sanctions would not prevent Russia from delivering sophisticated air defense missiles to Iran as agreed under a 2007 contract.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the contract for delivery of the powerful S-300 air defense missiles to Iran was concluded before the UN Security Council approved new sanctions earlier this month and therefore had “nothing to do” with the resolution.

Speaking to reporters in Damascus Thursday, Larijani said there were some “fluctuations” in Russia's position toward Iran. He said UN sanctions would affect his country “very little.” The new sanctions concern Iran's nuclear program.

Russia signed a deal to sell the missiles in 2007 but has delayed their delivery.

Meanwhile, Iran has written to the 15 members of the UN Security Council insisting that new sanctions will not affect its nuclear program, the state news agency said on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in the letters Iran "considers that the adoption of such (UN) resolutions will not affect its utterly peaceful nuclear program," the IRNA news agency reported.

Instead, Mottaki added in his letters to the foreign ministers of the Security Council member states, Iran is now "more determined" than ever to develop its atomic programme.

He criticized "the hasty adoption, at the insistence of America and its allies, of an unjust and illegal resolution against the great nation of Iran."

Mottaki thanked the Turkish and Brazilian foreign ministers for "resisting the pressure of some specific nations and voting against the resolution," IRNA said.

He also reiterated Tehran's position that, "nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's defense and security policies."

World powers led by Washington accuse the Islamic republic of seeking to build nuclear weapons and are demanding that it freeze its uranium enrichment activity, which can be a key step toward developing an atomic arsenal.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The new UN measures authorize states to conduct high-seas inspections of vessels believed to be ferrying banned items to Iran and add 40 entities to a list of people and groups subject to travel restrictions and financial sanctions.

The European Union too slapped a separate set of sanctions on Iran soon after the UN measures were imposed on June 9.