IRAN’S PRESIDENT delivered a rare warning to Russia yesterday, saying Moscow would be considered one of Tehran’s “historic enemies” if it supported US efforts to put more pressure on the Islamic regime.
The US has announced agreement between the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, including Russia, on a draft resolution imposing more penalties on Iran’s economy because of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The regime has followed a 30-year policy of friendship with Russia, based on common rivalry with the US. Iran had expected Russia to delay agreement on more sanctions.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, responded to Russia’s support for the US draft, saying: “If I were the Russian president, when making decisions about subjects related to a great nation [Iran], I would act more cautiously. The Iranian nation doesn’t know: are they [the Russians] our friends and neighbours?”
Referring to the US, Mr Ahmadinejad added: “It is not acceptable for the Iranian nation that our neighbour [Russia] stands by those who have been hostile to Iran over the past 30 years.” He said: “I am hopeful that Russian leaders and authorities will pay attention to these friendly words and take corrective action and not let the Iranian nation consider them among . . . historic enemies.”
Mr Ahmadinejad’s critics say he should never have relied on Russian support. Sadegh Zibakalam, a reform-minded university professor, said it was a mistake to put “all the foreign policy eggs in Chinese and Russian baskets”.
Sergei Prikhodko, foreign policy adviser to Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, made a barbed reference to Mr Ahmadinejad, saying: “No one has ever managed to preserve one’s authority with political demagoguery . . . Our position is Russian: it reflects the interests of all the peoples of greater Russia and so it can be neither pro-American nor pro-Iranian.”
Earlier this month, Iran agreed in principle to send 1,200kg of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for nuclear fuel from Russia and France, for use in a civilian reactor in Tehran.
The agreement did not dissuade the big powers, including the US and Russia, from agreeing in principle to impose more sanctions.
Mr Ahmadinejad said yesterday the deal was a “last chance” to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme and urged the US not to miss the opportunity. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)