That Iran has become nuclear is no longer a matter of doubt. ‘The Iranians are in fact moving rapidly toward a weapon.’ It has also managed to deceive US intelligence during the Bush administration. It was only during the Obama administration that Iran was discovered to be on full speed at producing nuclear weapons. Dealing with Iran at this juncture, while having a worst-case scenario in mind, is of decisive significance.

The nuclearization of Iran is ‘the direct responsibility of Russian nuclear expertise.’ With the recent disclosure that Russian nuclear scientists and engineers have been employed in Iran’s nuclear program, the Russians must therefore be held ‘responsible for the current state of Iran’s weapons program.’ Corollary, Russia also ‘bears responsibility for any actions that Israel or the United States might take to solve the problem.’

Regarding sanctions on Iran, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is mum on the subject. On the other hand, while ‘the Russians have indicated that participating in sanctions on gasoline imports by Iran is not out of the question, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev did not clearly state that Russia would cooperate.’

While there has already been proof as to the considerable degree of technical cooperation on military hardware between Iran and Russia, pointing to the conclusion that Russia is indeed involved in Iran’s civilian nuclear program, an important question rises to the surface: does Russia really want a nuclear Iran while knowing full well what the consequences might be in terms of Iran’s future potential capability and Russia’s relationship with the rest of the world, especially with US and Europe?

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Via STRATFOR