A U.S. military explosives expert displays explosives used by Iraqi militants, including the 'EFP' armour-penetrating roadside bomb (far L), in the Green Zone in Baghdad July 2, 2007. Senior Iranian leaders know about the operations of Iran's Qods Force in fomenting violence in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday, in some of the most direct accusations yet against Tehran over the chaos in Iraq. (Chris Hondros/Pool/Reuters)
MORE JITTERS IN MOSCOW In a further sign that Moscow is souring on cooperation with Iran, yet another prominent Russian politician is publicly warning about Iran's maturing nuclear ambitions. During recent diplomatic contacts between Moscow and Tehran, "[t]he Iranians obstinately dodged straightforward questions about their nuclear program," Mikhail Margelov, the head of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, Russia's upper chamber of parliament, has told a leading Russian news agency. "From this and other signs I had a feeling that Iran is working on a nuclear weapon." Iran, moreover, is making progress, according to the Russian parliamentarian. From Iran's uncompromising diplomatic posture it is possible to deduce that Iran "has a maximum of five years left before it tests its own nuclear bomb," Margelov has said. (Moscow Interfax, June 29, 2007)
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 48, July 3, 2007
American Foreign Policy Council, Washington, DC
Editor: Ilan Berman