The United States on Monday blamed Russia for its plan to sell advanced mobile surface-to-air missiles to Iran, and reiterated that Iran is a state sponsor of terror.

Undersecretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns has expressed Washington's unhappiness during his visit to Russia last week, deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said at a daily news briefing.

"Undersecretary Burns, I think, made clear to the Russians our broad concerns over Iranian behavior and this sale in particular," Ereli said.

"We certainly don't feel that this is a sale that would serve the interests of us or the region," he said.

Ereli made the remarks after Moscow confirmed plans to sell Iran 29 TOR M1 mobile surface-to-air missile defense systems in a contract worth more than 700 million dollars (600 million euros).

"I think it's important to remember and underscore that Iran is a state sponsor of terror, they have engaged in actions that we think are hostile and unhelpful," the spokesman said.

Russia said on Saturday that its arms sales to Iran were only for defense purposes. It was reported that Moscow was selling more than one billion US dollars worth of missiles and other defense systems to Tehran.

Source: Xinhua