Report: Russia Won’t Block Sanctions Against Iran

Ahmadinejad Insists Iran Serious About 10 New Sites

Unnamed Russian diplomatic sources claim that the Russian government has decided that if the rest of the UN Security Council backs sanctions against Iran, they will not stand in the way.

Since Russia has been directly involved in building Iran’s civilian nuclear program, the nation has been among the more reluctant members of the Security Council to back sanctions against them for having such a program. China is still likely an obstacle to the “crippling sanctions” sought by Western nations.

Western nations pressed forward with a harsh rebuke of the Iranian government in the IAEA, demanding that Iran stop construction of its Qom enrichment site. Iran responded by threatening to build 10 more sites.

Analysts say that the 10 new sites are likely a bluff and that Iran doesn’t have the resources for such an endeavor. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists that he is actually serious about the plan and that it is “no bluff.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.