The Tehran triangle

Russia has trodden carefully with Iran since the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last Friday lashed out at foreign critics and especially at the British government, which he called Iran's "worst enemy". Two UK diplomats were dismissed from the country after Khamenei accused Britain of meddling with Iran's internal affairs.
Unlike Britain, Russia's diplomatic step back and refusal to criticize Iran is symptomatic of its stance toward other countries reprimanded by the international community for human rights violations.
It has refused to join condemnation of Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, or China's occupation of Tibet, which Russia recognizes as an "integral part" of China. Russia's position on such issues has been neutral and respectful of countries' internal affairs.
Russia, like Iran, does not like international criticism of its own domestic affairs and this is demonstrated by its unwillingness to condemn the actions of other nations.
Russia has been caught in a triangular relationship involving Iran and the United States, which hopes to recruit Russia in its campaign against Iran's nuclear programme.
In a letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier this year, Barack Obama tried to negotiate over Iran by hinting that the US might drop its plans for a missile defence system in Europe if Russia helps to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons.
The Bushehr power plant, which is currently being built in Iran by Atomstroiexport and is expected to go online later this year, puts Russia in a good position to negotiate. Iran currently relies on Russia for the processed uranium fuel tubes that are used for the plant. However, the West suspects that Iran is pursuing a covert weapons programme, despite Tehran's insistence that it needs nuclear power for civilian use.
Cooperation with the US over Iran makes sense for other reasons. Iran, as a major oil and gas producer, is a potential rival to Russia for the supply of energy to Europe.
Alexei Mukhin of the Center for Political Information says this is a reason for Russia to observe the development of Iranian - U.S. relations.
"The United States is the only ally in this respect for Russia, as it too is not really thrilled about the idea of Iran being a permanent energy source for Europe," he said.
Yet, Russia has shown that it does not want to destabilise its relationship with Iran, which has several benefits. First, Russia and Iran are trade partners. Iran exports plastics, fruit and vegetables, among other things, to Russia.
Second, Iran has been given observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which signifies that Russia wants to keep it as a player in Central Asia, an area it wants to protect from US control.
But the extent of this relationship seems limited.
Russia does not appear to have an interest in Iran as a great international partner.
Although Russia's reaction to the Iranian elections has been less critical than those of many Western leaders, some believe that Russia has not been supportive enough of Iran.
Radhzab Safarov, director of the Center of Contemporary Iranian Studies in Moscow, criticised Russia for not providing a strong and clear reaction to the events in Tehran.
"There have been only two announcements in the Russian media on this topic in the last couple of days, and the last one consisted of only three lines - that this is the internal business of Iran. And there were no serious Russian politicians who commented on what is going on with a very important partner of ours," Safarov said.