Russia puts the screws to Iran?
As if the clerical fascists in Tehran didn't have enough problems already with high-level defections, a crumbling economy, and serious ethnic unrest in their empire, the Russians have just backed out of their deal to build a nuclear reactor at Bushehr.
The public reason for Russia's reneging has been Iran's failure to make scheduled payments, but there's speculation that information provided by defectors (such as former IRGC General Asgari) may have convinced the Russians that finishing Bushehr was not in their interests. I tend to doubt that, however. The Russians and the Iranians are centuries-old rivals in Central Asia, and I doubt Moscow has any illusions about Persian intentions. However, as Austin Bay points out, Europe is a much more important customer to Russia than Iran, and the Europeans are not thrilled with the prospect of Iranian nukes aimed their way. It may be that the Russians did a cost-benefit analysis and decided they had more to gain by keeping the EU happy than they would lose by stiffing Iran.
LINKS: Ed Morrissey thinks this situation put Ahmadinejad in a very tight spot.
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