Has Russia lost it or is it laying out the bait for the US to fall into the trap?
Russia warns Iran near nuclear weapons potential
MOSCOW — Iran is close to having the potential to build a nuclear weapon, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday in the clearest indication yet of Russian alarm over Tehran’s atomic drive.
“Iran is nearing the possession of the potential which in principle could be used for the creation of a nuclear weapon,” Medvedev said at a meeting with Russian diplomats quoted by Russian news agencies.
Russia, traditionally a diplomatic and economic ally of the Islamic republic, in the past took a milder line against Tehran than Western powers but recently noticeably hardened its position.
Iran has over the past months been announcing steady advances in its nuclear programme, in defiance of international calls for Tehran to freeze its sensitive uranium enrichment operations.
Iranian atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday said Tehran has produced around 20 kilogrammes of 20 percent enriched uranium.
Medvedev said that Iran “is far from behaving in the best way”.
‘Iran nearing nuclear bombs’ Russia warns
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Iran is “moving closer” to having the potential to create nuclear weapons.
It is one of the first times Moscow has publicly recognised that Iran might be moving towards a nuclear weapon.
Russia, which has strong economic and military ties with Iran, has traditionally been an ally of Tehran.
But it has recently adopted a tougher stance towards Tehran’s nuclear drive, and backed the fourth round of UN sanctions that was imposed last month.
“Iran is moving closer to possessing the potential which in principle could be used for the creation of nuclear weapons,” Mr Medvedev told a meeting of ambassadors in Moscow.
Has Russia had a change of heart? Or is Russia merely laying out the bait for the big-mouthed Americans to fall for?
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