Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today said that he was “very alarmed” by claims made in the latest IAEA report about Iran’s failure to prove that its nuclear program was only for civilian purposes.
But unlike Western officials, who used the report as an excuse for new calls for sanctions, Lavrov insisted that “we cannot accept that Iran is refusing to cooperate” and said that Russia remains opposed to the call for “crippling sanctions.”
Russia has played a role in Iran’s civilian nuclear program, constructing the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Iran has been enriching uranium to 3.5 percent to fuel this plant, despite Western objections.
Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, could veto prospective US-backed sanctions against Iran. China, another power with veto capabilities, has also expressed opposition to such sanctions.
Gee, the way talk was going, one would have thought that Israel/US had bought Russia off, Putin said an attack on Iran will be seen as an attack on Russia…So if Israel made some blunder in/and attacking Iran, Russia could make the place unlivable is about twenty minutes…
Believe me, yes ! As you may know, the Israel lobby in the U.S. is so powerful – the tail wags the dog, that the U.S. will continue to act against its interests in that region. Most reports put Iran several years away from developing a nuclear bomb. My suspicion is that there is more to it than just the fear that Iran is developing a nuclear bomb. Also, given all the drumbeat by the U.S. and its western buddies over the past 5 years that Iran is about to develop a nuclear bomb, why hasn't the U.S. and Israel already attacked Iran ? Is there something they are not telling us ?
Sadly I would have to say YES. The USA is controlled by selfish lobbies and has no real (let alone rational) foreign policy.
IAEA has no new data that IRAN is developing bomb expertise. Just old thrashed info that previous IAEA head El Baradei refused to inflate. US and Israel had previously tried hard to get El Baradei to rubberstamp that old info to prop up their allegations against Iran,but he refused and withstood their wrath and attempts to remove him several times before he retired on his own terms. The new "patsy" IAEA head has just caved in to those old attempts to issue the suspect old info. Russia and China will not be bullied into escalation against Iran (unless its in their interests and then they could just stand aside). Interesting statement by Putin;I had not heard that.However, seems inconsistent since Russia is years behind delivering the contracted defensive S300 missile system to Iran.