Russian assistance to Iranian nuke program.

October 9, 2009: Israel has asked Russia to get several Russian scientists to stop working on Iran's nuclear weapons program. The Israeli prime minister recently went to Russia and personally delivered the evidence, and a plea for help in halting the work of the Russian experts. Israel believes that the Russian scientists could not work in Iran without the permission of the Russian government.

The Russians don’t need the oil, so why are they providing such crucial assistance on a massively destructive weapon to a state that sponsors terrorism and which is responsible for the killing of U.S. soldiers?

No civilized state profits from having the crazed mullahs of Iran acquire nuclear weapons unless that state is a bitter enemy of the United States. Kosovo was a stupid poke in the Russian eye, expanding NATO was dumb but nothing that the Soviets hadn’t done to the West for 50 years (think GSFG), and putting defensive missiles close to the Russian border isn’t anything that threatening or destabilizing given the Cold War and the comparative rationality and restraint shown by both sides. It’s not like there aren’t Russian missile subs in the oceans well within range of any point in the U.S.

So what does Russia get from this assistance except helping the Iranians prepare to do the real dirty work with its nukes or to deny the oil of the Middle East to the West?

For what purpose would Russia want to deny Middle East oil to the west and what damage would it like to see by way of a nuclear blast?

This is evidence of a major long-term Russian foreign policy move that advances no Russian economic interest and neutralizes no security threat to Russia. It has ample conventional resources to deal with our limited activities on its periphery. There's simply no good reason for it if Russia has peaceful intentions.

Russia is being extremely provocative.

"Where In The World Are The Russian Nuclear Scientists?" Strategy Page, 10/9/09 (link omitted, emphasis added).

ADDENDUM (10/19/09):

James P. commenting on "Obama's delusional diplomacy and other matters," by Lawrence Auster, View from the Right, 10/18/09:

Russia is the major source of arms for Iran. More than 70% of Iran's arms came from Russia from 1995-2005. Russia is the major source of Iranian missile and nuclear know-how, both directly and through other Russian proxies. Russia built, and will provide fuel for, Iran's nuclear plant at Bushehr. Russia, of course, has been the major diplomatic protector of Iran for a long time, and could pressure Iran by threatening to withdraw that protection if Russia so desired.

It does not go too far to say that Iran is a Russian client state, and if Russia wanted Iran to stop doing something, then Iran would stop. However, it is precisely because Iran is a Russian client state that Russia does NOT want Iran to stop developing its nuclear program. Russia simply does not want the United States to have the ability to coerce Iran, and therefore it is impossible to "get Russia on our side" no matter how often Hillary goes to Moscow to grovel.