I think it is not a good idea from russian interest - deploying sanctions against Iran may hinder good relations and future weapon sales. I do not need to mention that most of the military hardware is supplied by the Chinese already, and basic stuff is produced domestically. Iran is a titan in terms of population and reserves but in terms of military it is one of the weakest countries in the ME. Military hardware even if new is based on pirated copies of equipment from 70s. I also think that bragging about possiblity of building nuclear weapons is not the best for Iran - they should go Israeli way, not confirming and not denying. I dont know if for the last 100-years Persians attacked some other country - this basically the most pacifistic nation on Earth. Keeping nuclear weapons for self defense is good, but bragging about using them is not a smart thing to do - especially when Israel is right around the corner.

Wrong decision. Iran is as determined to become a technologically advanced nation, as North Vietnam was determined to defeat American occupiers of South Vietnam and unite the country. American sanctions and embargoes against Iran will be as worthless as they were against N. Vietnam. Obama is witnessing America's "third Vietnam" unfolding before his eyes and he knows not what to do to avoid a similar debacle as occurred in 1973. The more logical decision for Russia and the rest of the world would be to support sanctions against America to force Obama to cease his brutal occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Russia has taken the correct stance in this matter. Without going into details, a quick review of the information on Iran available at IAEA.org confirms that Iran has consistently failed to provide transparency in with regards to it's nuclear activities, and quite often fallen into violation. The IAEA itself has declared that it cannot confirm the non-military nature of the Iranian program so long as Iran refuses to ratify and implement the Additional Protocols that it has signed. In fact, Iran has been using their implementation as a bargaining chip with the IAEA in order to force concessions, which is highly questionable behavior, but indicative of their entire approach towards the issue. It should be noted that Additional Protocols are standard upgrades to the original NPT. The IAEA began asking member nations to sign additional 'clauses' after it became apparent that the original NPT needed updating due to changing technological realities. The IAEA became aware of this when it failed to detect the Iraqi nuclear program, and the Protocols were a direct result of that failure. Close to 100 member nations have implemented Additional Protocols to date. Iran's refusal to implement the Protocols that they agreed to, and signed, is highly questionable when viewed from that perspective. Furthermore, Iran's threats should it not get its way are just another example of how Iran is not capable of responding to the situation in a rational, diplomatic fashion. The IAEA should definitely not allow itself to be taken hostage by Iranian threats and tantrums.

I should say that it disturbs me when people liken the situation with Iran to that with Iraq prior to the US invasion. The fact is that in the early 1990's Iraq did have a nuclear program operating outside of the law, which the IAEA helped to dismantle after it was detected. I also don't think that it is right to liken Iranian and Israeli nuclear activities. Iran signed the NPT and is therefore subject to IAEA regulations. Israel is a separate problem. Iran is not way out of line in using another country's illegal program to justify breaking the agreements that it has entered into of it's own free will. In other words, it is using Israel as an excuse to do whatever it wants. The international community must eventually address the Israeli program, however, until that happens, Iran's responsibility is to fulfill it's own obligations, not use another country's program as an excuse to act in bad faith. I should also like to add that Iran's current provocative and threatening behavior seems to me to be an intentional attempt to push the international community to the breaking point where it will act, and thus give Iran the justification that it is looking for to repudiate its NPT agreement completely and actively pursue an illegal nuclear program. In other words, it wants an excuse to go illegal.

Very, very, very bad decission. Is this because of the preasure from Israel?

I have sensed this was happening with the big smile on Netanyahu’s face when he met with Medvedev. It was obvious that he had something big to smile about. Very wrong decision on Russia’s part.

We must realize the tough position Russia is in. This is a slightly altered quote that i feel is relevant here: "First they came for the Vietnamese but we are not Vietnamese so we did not speak out. Then they came for the Iraqis but we were not one of them, so we did not speak out. Then they came for the Iranians but we were not Iranian so we did not speak out. And when they came for us, there was no one left to speak out for us." I am sure President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin understand this attempt at global domination (World Empire) that is under way will eventually have to include Russia. I trust the Russian leaders will make the wisest choice in this regard as they realize that sooner or later they themselves will be the one's targeted.