Russia reprises its role as a spoilsport in Iran

To borrow a phrase from the Obama Administration, Russia has pushed the reset button on its relations with … Iran.

Moscow's move last month to start activating Iran's Russian-built nuclear reactor followed recent accolades won by Russia from the United States by joining in the U.N. Security Council vote to sanction Iran for pursuing nuclear weapons.

It may seem that the start of the transfer of uranium fuel rods from storage into the plant appears deliberately timed to embarrass the United States.

It would not be the first time.

As far as the West is concerned, the Kremlin had traditionally played a spoilsport role in Iran, its longtime political and trade partner.

To be sure, the Kremlin is not keen on the idea of having a nuclear-armed radical Muslim regime as neighbor. It has dragged its feet on the reactor deal as much as possible (Russia took more than 30 years to build it). Yet the Kremlin nevertheless seemed to play along with Iran's nuclear ambitions, if only to use its relations with Iran and the threat it presents to Israel as a leverage in its relations with the United States.

But the reality is grimmer.

Russia has fallen hostage to its own long-standing policy in Iran. The tail is wagging the dog now.

Rocked by recent bomb blasts in Moscow that were blamed on Muslim radicals, the Kremlin simply does not have the nerve to play chicken with hell-bent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr. Ahmadinejad warned a few months ago that "Russian leaders should not create a situation that makes [the] Iranian people place Russia in the ranks of their historic enemies." The Kremlin responded with a statement that Russia does not respond to "political demagogy."

It now appears that it does after all - if not to demagogy then to threats.

Last month, Mr. Ahmadinejad upped the ante when he dedicated Iran's first domestically built unmanned bomber drone, calling it an "ambassador of death." Even though the bomber's range falls short of reaching its nemesis, Israel, the announcement demonstrated that the Iranian remains bent on threatening Israel and frustrating the United States.

The Kremlin is balancing between annoying Mr. Ahmadinejad further and appeasing him at the risk of alienating Washington.

How far Russia leans toward Iran will in part depend on how far Russia can get away with it before invoking a harsh rebuke from the United States.

With the recent loss of air bases in Central Asia, the United States has overexposed itself to dependence on Russia's goodwill in the region. It also depends on Russia for supply routes to the U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Pressure is mounting on the Obama Administration to secure direct ties with Central Asian regimes that would allow it to bypass Russia.

Meanwhile, it is Mr. Ahmadinejad who has the initiative in cutting out the middleman.

Excelling in "political demagogy," the Iranian leader has increased pressure on Russia by proposing to meet with President Obama to discuss bilateral relations. This symbolic gesture signals disrespect to Russia as the middleman in Iran's relations with the West.

Mike Sigov, a former Moscow journalist, is a staff writer for The Blade.

Contact him at:

sigov@theblade.com

or 419-724-6089.