Report: Russia woos Iran on weapons

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=18825

Report: Russia woos Iran on weapons

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=18825

MOSCOW: Russia is intensifying efforts to sell weapons to Iran
while such sales remain legal amid mounting pressure on the
Islamic Republic over its nuclear program, the daily Kommersant
said. Moscow "has stepped up military-technological cooperation
with Tehran," the business daily said, citing an unidentified
source. It said top officials within Russia's military-industrial
complex decided to concentrate on arms sales to Tehran for two
reasons:
"First, as many weapons as possible must be sold to Iran before an
international embargo against this country comes into force." Second,
should the United States decide to go to war in Iran, Russia wants
Iran to be well-armed to ensure that U.S. forces become at least as
bogged down there as they already are in Iraq, the daily said.

"In either case, such a policy carries a high risk of creating a major
international scandal, at the very least," it said.

The report came two days after the International Atomic Energy Agency
formally found Iran in violation of its obligations under the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a decision the United States

hailed as a "significant step forward" in its efforts to curb Iran's
nuclear plans.

"The United States practically no longer even hides the fact that, in
parallel with diplomacy at the IAEA, it is making preparations to
resolve the conflict by force," Kommersant said.

The U.S. ambassador to the ex-Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, which
borders Iran, said in a recent interview that Washington is
encouraging - and helping fund - a buildup in the capacities of naval
forces for Azerbaijan and another former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan.

Both border the oil-rich Caspian Sea, as does Iran. In its assertion
that Washington is already making preparations for military action in
the region, Kommersant cited the U.S.-funded construction of two radar
stations in Azerbaijan. - AFP

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