Russia Starts Playing Hardball With Iran

Paper Reports Moscow Issues Ultimatum To Stop Enrichment

(CBS/AP) 
Russia has told Iran that it will withhold nuclear fuel for a power plant Moscow is building inside the Islamic republic, unless Tehran halts its contentious uranium enrichment program, according to a Tuesday report in the New York Times.

The ultimatum comes after several weeks of growing tension between Tehran and Russia, one of the few countries that has tried to temper a push by the United States to punish Iran for its nuclear program.

Russia has been building a nuclear power plant at Bushehr, in Iran, as an incentive to deter the regime from forging ahead with a nuclear enrichment program on their own, away from the eyes of other nations.

In recent weeks, Moscow has accused Tehran of failing to make payments for the crucial fuel delivery — what would be the next step in the plant's construction — and said the fuel would be withheld until overdue payments were made.

Russia's state-run nuclear power company went so far as to say the delinquent payments could permanently derail the planned construction of the plant.

Iran's government has insisted repeatedly that all due payments have been made, and says Russia must provide the gas according to the deal struck by the two nations.

U.S. and European government representatives said Tuesday that Russia is pulling out its experts from the Iranian nuclear reactor site at Bushehr.

The representatives — a European diplomat and a U.S. official — said a large number of Russian technicians, engineers and other specialists have returned to Moscow within the last week. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because their information was confidential.

Russia's new ultimatum was delivered last week by Igor S. Ivanov, the secretary of the Russian National Security Council, to Ali Hosseini Tash, Iran's deputy chief nuclear negotiator, according to The Times, which cited anonymous officials.

It indicates a shift in the Russian attitude towards Iran that diplomats in the U.S. and Europe will welcome.

Western members of the U.N. Security Council have been pushing for much harsher sanctions against Tehran to force them to halt enrichment, but they've met with resistance from Russia and China, both of which wield veto-power in the council.

"We're not sure what mix of commercial and political motives are at play here," one senior Bush administration official told The Times. "But clearly the Russians and the Iranians are getting on each other's nerves — and that's not all bad."

It wasn't clear whether the Russians adopted their new, tougher stance on Iran over the money issue, or for reasons related to the constant pressure applied on Moscow from Washington and Europe to force Iran's hand.

Meanwhile, South Africa called Monday for a 90-day "time out" on sanctions against Iran and said a resolution drafted by six world powers should drop an embargo on arms exports and financial sanctions targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guards and an Iranian bank.

The proposals by South Africa, which holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month, were obtained by The Associated Press ahead of an informal council meeting Tuesday and the first formal discussion Wednesday on the draft resolution.

The U.S. has granted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a visa, letting him travel to New York to address the U.N. Security Council as it considers sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program.

The department has processed 39 visas for Ahmadinejad and his delegation, which includes 12 other senior Iranian officials and 26 security guards, he said. Another 33 visa requests, for airline crew and support staff, are expected to be processed shortly.

The approvals, which had been expected, were announced Monday after world powers agreed in principle to the new sanctions. Iran wants to speak to the council before members vote on the resolution to impose the new measures.

[anopinion1]

geneous.

any other countries feel like starting a war?????

[tuckerndfw]

Which gives Iran an easy out and the ability to save face.

The president of Iran can now claim it's Russia's fault when he abandons his rhetoric about nuclear weapons.

And, his status is elevated in the Middle East for standing up to the US and warmongering George Bush.

In the meantime, the US loses even more face after George Bush is made to look even more foolish by Iran.

This is the worst administration in US history. By the time George Bush leaves office, Zimbabwe will be more respected than the US.

[d33pthroat1]

I don't understand why the news media is making such a big deal of granting visas to the Iranian president Ahmadinejad and his delegation.

The implication is that the US is going against some kind of norms and doing a big favor to Iran.

As long as Iran is an active member of the UN and the US hosts the UN meetings, the US has no choice but to give them visas. It is their duty to do so as per UN regulations.

If they dont like it, they can let the UN HQ go to some other country.

[fredgrad2000]

Well, we know that the military option actually IS "off the table", despite what our administration says - in our Iraq state of mind, no one could muster the political capital or support to launch another military campaign even if we had the forces to do so...so as such, diplomacy is our ONLY option, not just the best one...and "muscular" diplomacy with Iran has to include strong actions by Russia and China (and Japan actually as well) - as these nations are their economic benefactors. We know we have been working all 3 nations hard behind the scenes - if we can get them on-board here as we did on North Korea that could be a very good sign and quite a detraction of all the naysayers who say we have no respect or persuasion in the world anymore. Wait and see of course, but diplomacy may be working here...we'll see over the next few months.

[karlimhof]

Zimbabwe will be more respected than the US.
Posted by tuckerndfw

no need to wait till '09, recent european opinion polls listing least respected:

1st place : USA
2nd place : Jewish State of Israel

[wolf563]

I`m suprised the Iranian president would go into the heartland of the people he calls his enemy .He is taking his life in his hands with so many Americans anger and frustration at a peek.I hope the U.S.Air force escorts his flight in as I wouldn`t put it past the Iranians to crash deliberately and blame the U.S. saying they where shot down .Of course the U.S. could say it was Al-Qada . IRAN has lied to the world body ,cheated the only people that were supporting them and continue to threaten anyone that stands in thier way .Do you really expect Ahmadinejad to tell the U.N. the truth ? THEY SHOULD LOCK HIM UP FOR UTTERING DEATH THREATS .RUSSIA should go in and BLOW UP the power station that they built and cut thier losses . The world body could help repay them for restoring peace in the world and gain new stronger friendships with the rest of the world . WORLD PEACE IS AT HAND . JUST DO IT!!!

[wolf563]

How many dirty bombs are we going to let him build with delay after delay after delay ? Ahmadinejad has said that the U.N. COUNSIL is illegitimate and yet he now wants to tell them lies to there faces . Give him one week to start shuting down or we (U.N) will do it for you AND the sanctions will stick for a min. ten years .

[breceivemail]

Because of these actions, Iran is refusing other countries' fuel assurance.
Because westerns are the big liars. Like Bush who claimed Saddam had nuclear weapons.
Now they are claiming that Iran is enriching uranium for developing nuclear weapons.

Know the big liars of the world.
Believe that they are cheating people of the world.
Our nuclear activities are peaceful and we want to be independent.

[TomMariner]

Everyone is kidding themselves if they think there is any force of reason that will cause Iran to stop or slow down their development and immediate use of nuclear weapons. Their leaders are not only driven by the fact that their political lives depend upon the gross killing but (since they are a religion, not a country) have the sacred obligation to remove the heads of everyone who is not their brand of religion.

I wish there had been a better way than WWII to deter Hitler's belief that his Aryan race should inherit our planet, but that jerk allowed the destruction of every major German city and got down to children fighting before he took the easy way out. And the leaders of Iran don't just have an economic motive -- a higher being is calling on them to kill. At least that is what the clerics who lead the goverment tell their citizens (oops I mean parishoners.)

The reason for the separation of church and state in the US is not to protect the church.

I am not smart enough to think of a way to deter Teheran's global ambitions but am dead certain that if something is not done very soon, all of us are going to be fighting to keep our heads attached to our bodies.

Our current direction sure sounds a lot like Neville Chamblerlain's appeasement of Hitler. I'll bet that (unless someone had a crystal ball into the future), he would have instantly lost his place in British politics if he had taken pre-emptive action to stop the growing threat.

[TomMariner]

Everyone is kidding themselves if they think there is any force of reason that will cause Iran to stop or slow down their development and immediate use of nuclear weapons. Their leaders are not only driven by the fact that their political lives depend upon the gross killing but (since they are a religion, not a country) have the sacred obligation to remove the heads of everyone who is not their brand of religion.

I wish there had been a better way than WWII to deter Hitler's belief that his Aryan race should inherit our planet, but that jerk allowed the destruction of every major German city and got down to children fighting before he took the easy way out. And the leaders of Iran don't just have an economic motive -- a higher being is calling on them to kill. At least that is what the clerics who lead the goverment tell their citizens (oops I mean parishoners.)

The reason for the separation of church and state in the US is not to protect the church.

I am not smart enough to think of a way to deter Teheran's global ambitions but am dead certain that if something is not done very soon, all of us are going to be fighting to keep our heads attached to our bodies.

Our current direction sure sounds a lot like Neville Chamblerlain's appeasement of Hitler. I'll bet that (unless someone had a crystal ball into the future), he would have instantly lost his place in British politics if he had taken pre-emptive action to stop the growing threat.

[TomMariner]

Everyone is kidding themselves if they think there is any force of reason that will cause Iran to stop or slow down their development and immediate use of nuclear weapons. Their leaders

[wolf563]

Ahmadinejad has just admitted to working towards NUCLEAR WEAPONS . He wants to go to war against the spatans .

[j4401]

List all the countries who have ever puposely used nuclear weapons against civilians. That is the country I am worried about.

[bboc77]

Kill him and all his council that make the trip with him.

[karlimhof]

It is a sad day hearing all this ranting about nuking Tehran, "taking out" Ahmadinejad, his council, etc.

You are all suffering from Bushotitus and need serious help.

After all that's happened, being lied into a unjust war - it's time to start thinking again.

[nosmar-2009]

Beyond the predictable Bush bashing and America hating loonies, most reasonable people understand that Iran has planned all along to develop nuclear weapons. Iran will use this power to blackmail the west. Simple as that.
j4401 - read up on WWII - you should make an effort to understand the basics of our use of the bombs against Japan. Can you even find Japan on a map? What day was the most devestating to the Japanese during WWII - any clue?

[lars008-2009]

NEVER FORGET THE RAPES OF BESLAN GIRLS!
Terror at Beslan
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1316935651894423094

RAPES IN BESLAN: IN MUHAMMAD%u2019S FOOTSTEPS
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/News/Trifkovic04/NewsST091304.html

Forget Not the Children of Beslan
http://kenlydell.typepad.com/islamic_evil/forget_not_the_children_of_beslan/index.html

Religion of Peace??? More like a cult of death.
http://www.terrorists-suck.org/why_suck/beslan.html

[lars008-2009]

the war that fascist nazi Islamic muslims started and continues on yet today%u2026%u2026
The Truth about Islamic Crusades and Imperialism
Historical facts say that Islam has been imperialistic%u2014and would still like to be, if only for religious reasons. Many Muslim clerics, scholars, and activists, for example, would like to impose Islamic law around the world. Historical facts say that Islam, including Muhammad, launched their own Crusades against Christianity long before the European Crusades.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/11/the_truth_about_islamic_crusad.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/2004/08/the_muslim_crusades.html

[j4401]

I wonder when the world realized that using nuclear weapons on civilians was consider appropriate. We are our own worst enemy.

[anopinion1]

Zimbabwe will be more respected than the US.
Posted by tuckerndfw

no need to wait till '09, recent european opinion polls listing least respected:

1st place : USA
2nd place : Jewish State of Israel
Posted by karlimhof at 10:41 AM : Mar 20, 2007

if you did the same poll in the U.S. the results will pretty damm close to the same.....
president doushe bag has made many of us ashamed to be an american.....

[anopinion1]

China is overpopulated right!!!!!
lets turn our heads the other direction while china does a little ethnic cleansing in the area and spreads itself out across the land.
Split up the oil reserves.
and world will be a better place.

(p.s. i'm not serious but until the crazy religious idiots are all dead the world will not be a very safe place)

[lars008-2009]

Origin of Islam: According to Secular History
http://www.allaboutreligion.org/origin-of-islam.htm

[anopinion1]

hi singinrick; hows things.

Hi, sometimes you gotta try to spark a little conversation...aka my last post...

but seriously their has been feuding in the middle east for what is it 1200 years. The scary thing now a days tho is that weapons of mass destruction are available. where as in the past, it was just hand to hand combat. all in all, their mindset has been the same for this long.
The only hope for peace in iraq is for the U.S. and probably many other countries to baby sit them and stay their for probably the next 50 some odd years.

[anopinion1]

i'm alright

i was just trying to shake things up see if anyone was reading this post...

When i used crazy their i meant those on holy missions to harm/kill people. which is far from what you stand for.

[anopinion1]

i get off work soon but i will read this tomorrow..


so what do you think can be done in iraq. ne hope for peace their?
only way i could see this happen is A. one side wins out and other perish B. they somehow reject the religion that has caused them nothing but grief for soooo long. or C. someone wipes them all out and lets god sort them out....

[lars008-2009]

the war that fascist nazi Islamic muslims started and continues on yet today%u2026%u2026
The Truth about Islamic Crusades and Imperialism
Historical facts say that Islam has been imperialistic%u2014and would still like to be, if only for religious reasons. Many Muslim clerics, scholars, and activists, for example, would like to impose Islamic law around the world. Historical facts say that Islam, including Muhammad, launched their own Crusades against Christianity long before the European Crusades.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/11/the_truth_about_islamic_crusad.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/2004/08/the_muslim_crusades.html

[nosmar-2009]

No need to worry about what the Europeans think - they are falling apart anyway.
As far as "president doushe bag has made many of us ashamed to be an american..... " luckily Clinton is out now so this is no longer a concern. WE had no choice but to act in Iraq - what is critical now is minimizing Iran's influence in Iraq. Iran is a house of cards waiting to fall. We need to support thier internal opposition parties.

[nosmar-2009]

As far as how do we see peace in Iraq? Only a powerful leader can do that in Iraq - it will shake our politcally correct sensibilities here in the US but that is what those cultures respect - Thier religion teaches "Power is right" That is how dictators have maintained control over Muslim countries. The fight between Sunni and Shiite goes back to 638 when Muhammad died with no male heir - his daughter, Fatima married Ali (a cleric) and they had a son, Hussien - Shiite believe he should be the heir to Islam, however three Caliphs ran Persia and the Sunnis went back to the "power is right" mentality and determined that they should run Islam - a civil war broke out and Hussein was killed in 680 - hence the bad blood between them. Fact is, Sunni and Shiite live side by side in many areas successfully when under a very strong leader. They need a strong leader who isn't a murder this time Babble about how bad Bush is doesn't address the core issue and pushing to get out fast will only bring on the worst case scenario - problem is many leftist want just that - they are willing to sell out America and our troops just to bring down Bush - shameful and ignorant.

[gunnerv1]

The only reason the Russians are Pis* Off is because they haven't been paid yet! Remember, when "it's not about the money, it about the principal, it's about the money"!