Russia is already delivering air defense systems, as well as certain types of electronics to Iran, the Head of Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Monday.

“The list of weapons banned from being delivered to Iran does not include certain weapons, such as air defense, some types of electronics. It is in these areas that the Russian Federation, through Rosoboronexport, maintains contacts and provides these types of weapons to Iran,” Anatoly Isaikin told Rossiya-24 television.

Meanwhile, China wants to step up cooperation with Iran's Air Force, the Head of the Chinese Air Force told his Iranian counterpart on Monday, the latest in a series of high-level military contacts, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.

Ma Xiaotian told Hassan Shah Safi that relations between the two air forces had developed smoothly, Reuters reported from Beijing.

“We hope that cooperation can go up another level,” Ma said, according to a statement issued by China's Defense Ministry, which did not elaborate.

A senior Chinese admiral visited Tehran last month and last year, for the first time ever, two Chinese warships docked at Iran's Bandar Abbas port to take part in a joint naval exercise in the Persian Gulf and an Iranian admiral was given tours of a Chinese submarine and warships.

China and Iran have close diplomatic, economic, trade and energy ties, and China has been active in pushing both the United States and Iran to reach agreement on Iran's nuclear issue. Under a multilateral deal, agreed in July, sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing to slow down its nuclear progress. (FNA; File Photo: Russian S-300 Missile System)