Helping Iran Go Nuclear

As the conflict between the allied coalition and Iraq continues, there is a sickening silence concerning the nuclear cooperation between Russia and Iran.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov visited Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan during the second week of March. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov explained to Interfax, “This trip was planned long ago and its role will increase in connection with the deteriorating situation in the region” (March 7).

The most significant aspect of the cooperation between Russia and Iran, world-security wise, will be their nuclear partnership. The Western powers will certainly be forced to address this issue eventually. Bbc News noted last year that though the relationship between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin has blossomed, “there is one issue threatening to come between them: an $800 million nuclear reactor being built by the Russians in Iran” (Aug. 16, 2002).

The project, begun by a German firm in 1972, was abandoned after the 1979 Iranian revolution until a decade ago, when Moscow agreed to finish it. Last December, Russia and Iran agreed to speed the completion of this same nuclear power plant.

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham stated that Washington has “long been concerned that Iran’s only interest in nuclear civil power—given its vast domestic energy resources—is to support its nuclear weapons program” (ibid.).

Two factors encourage the continuing partnership of Russia and Iran, despite deep U.S. unease and mistrust; one is monetary, the other is political. Russia’s military elite “view themselves as keepers of the Russian imperial flame, and the only people who can oppose the American influence in the world” (ibid.).

Watch the relationship between Iran and Russia continue to build as the pace of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the Middle East picks up. One of the most significant factors, supported by this evidence, will be that of Iran achieving recognition as a nuclear power.