Iran has finished manufacturing a homegrown missile defense system, which is as powerful as the S-300 system that Russia refused to deliver to the Islamic Republic.

The Fars news agency published on Friday the first images of the long-range Bavar-373 missile defense system, saying that it is meant to carry the message of self-sufficiency of Iranian armed forces to the world.

Last February, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said the missile is expected to be ready by March 2015.

He said the infrastructure for manufacturing Bavar-373 were prepared and the bottlenecks in the project were removed.

Under a contract signed in 2007, Russia was obliged to provide Iran with at least five S-300 defense systems.

However, Moscow refused to deliver the system to Iran under the pretext that it is covered by the fourth round of the United Nations Security Council sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear energy program.

Over the past years, Iran has attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

On August 24, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unveiled two marine cruise missiles, Ghadir and Nasr-e Basir, as well as two unmanned aerial vehicles, Karrar-4 and Mohajer-4, during a ceremony in Tehran.

The Islamic Republic has so far designed and manufactured a variety of indigenous missiles, including Sayyad-2, Khalij-e-Fars (Persian Gulf), Mehrab (Altar), Ra'd (Thunder), Qader (Mighty), Nour (Light) and Zafar (Triumph).

Iran unveiled its first domestically-manufactured long-range combat drone, the Karrar (Striker), on August 23, 2010. Since then the country has manufactured a variety of other high-tech surveillance and combat unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured its neighbors that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.