Re: Iran’s foreign minister has said that Russia and China had officially informed Tehran they would not support sanctions or military action over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program,....
As I said before, let's not be fooled by Russia's pro-Iranian posture. I'm afraid that Russia's pro-Iranian rhetoric will prove as flimsy and bogus as her pro-Iraqi one. Russia, just like Israel, doesn't want a nuclear Iran(*). For that matter, the Israeli spy-satellite was launched from a Russian base(**).
I guess the main benefit of having Russia play-acting Iran's staunchest supporter lies in the NON-isolation of China. Indeed, we would face a much worse geopolitical situation if China were THE ONLY power backing Iran! Especially if another key world player were tempted to break the Chinese isolation, namely, India.... The isolation of China as the sole power to oppose harsh sanctions against Iran might indeed prompt India to side with China --Washington's worst nightmare!
Gus
(*) Message 22011003
(**) Russia launches Israeli spy satellite
Tuesday, April 25, 2006; Posted: 9:29 p.m. EDT (01:29 GMT)
MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russia on Tuesday launched a satellite for Israel that the Israelis say will be used to spy on Iran's nuclear program.
The Eros B satellite was launched from a mobile pad at the Svobodny cosmodrome in the Far East, said Alexei Kuznetsov, a spokesman for the Russian military space forces.
About 20 minutes later, the satellite successfully reached orbit, Russian news agencies reported, citing the space forces' press service.
"The Israeli satellite reached its target orbit and has been transferred to the client's control," Kuznetsov was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Israel's Channel 10 TV reported that the launch was successful, but the satellite would not deploy its power panels for another day and a half.
The satellite is designed to spot images on the ground as small as 271/2 inches, an Israeli defense official said. That level of resolution would allow Israel to gather information on Iran's nuclear program and its long-range missiles, which are capable of striking Israel, he said.
[...]
cnn.com |
