Iran Nuclear Watch: Russia Continues Opposition to United Nations Sanctions

Accompanied by Iran’s army commanders, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, reviews army missiles, during a parade ceremony commemorating Army Day in front of the mausoleum of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini just outside Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 18, 2006.

ASSociated Press: Russia Still Opposed to Sanctions on Iran

Russia said it remains opposed to sanctions against Iran, and China expressed hope for a negotiated solution as senior diplomats from six countries converged in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the next step toward solving the Iranian nuclear standoff.

The United States and Britain say that if Iran does not comply with the U.N. Security Council’s April 28 deadline to stop uranium enrichment, they will seek a resolution that would make the demand compulsory.

Negotiations with Iran are going NOWHERE. The United Nations will not be able to enforce the April 28th deadline for Iran to stop their uranium enrichment. What are the remaining options for the United States?

1. Continue the charade of United Nations negotiations

2. Begin one on one negotiations with Iran like talks on Iraq – Senator Richard Lugar suggested this Sunday.

3. Impose sanctions with European and Asian allies

4. Do nothing

5.Military operation to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities and change their regime

So far, Iran has refused to give up uranium enrichment, which the United States and some of its allies suspect is meant to produce weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin reaffirmed Moscow’s insistence on more diplomatic efforts with Iran. “We are convinced that neither sanctions nor the use of force will lead to the solution of the problem,” he said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, the country’s top nonproliferation official, visited Tehran over the weekend and appealed to Iranian leaders to reach a negotiated settlement to the dispute, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Russia and China, two of the council’s five veto-holding members, have opposed punishing Iran.

Flap handicaps a “slow play” by President Bush. There appears to be no imminent threat that Iran will possess a nuclear weapon and the military option is always available if intelligence becomes availbe that is different than conventional wisdom.

So, why not play for time and let Iran’s ahmadinejad shoot his big yap off boasting of Iran’s nuclear and military successes – which frankly gives pause to his Arab neighbors. The “slow play” will allow the wrap-up of the Iraq War, the support of dissident groups within Iran to affect political regime change and increased intelligence efforts.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures as he talks with Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, Iran ‘s nuclear chief, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April, 16, 2006.

In the meantime, Ahmadinejad is bloviating again:

On Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that Iran will “cut the hand of any aggressor” that threatens it, and insisted that Iran’s military has to be equipped with the most modern technology.

“Iran’s enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders,” he told a parade to commemorate Iran’s Army Day.

The comments came a day after Israel branded Iran as part of an “axis of terror” with Syria and the Hamas-run Palestinian government and said they are making “clear declarations of war.”

“A dark cloud is looming above our region, and it is metastasizing as a result of the statements and actions by leaders of Iran, Syria and the newly elected government of the Palestinian Authority,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman warned.