Resets, Russia, and Iranian Proliferation

The Obama administration touts the reset policy with Russia as one of its signal achievements in foreign policy. One of the key elements of its argument is Russia’s help with Iran. Upon closer inspection it appears, however, that this support is tenuous and limited. Indeed, we may have reached the end of the line in terms of Russian support for the United States regarding Iranian proliferation of nuclear weapons. Though Russia clearly opposes Iranian nuclearization, it does not regard this as nearly as great a threat as does the United States, and the evidence is quite compelling that Russia sees Iran as a partner against the United States and that the US concessions made to Russia to elicit support against Iran appear to have been excessive.