Hell Froze Over: Russia Backs Sanctions Against Iran?

Cut and Print!  We need to document this accordingly!

Read in the news tonight that Russian president Dmitri Medvedev has generally agreed that sanctions against Iran would be “unfortunate but inevitable.”

This coming from one country that since the fall of the Iranian shah in 1979 has been a definite supplier of weaponry to Iran through the decades. 

The influence of all countries in the world are important; but lets be realistic.  When it comes down to relations developing nations have with the international community, the approval of 4 entities generally matter – the U.S., the E.U., Russia, and China.  Anytime an issue is placed before the UN Security Council or questions of international unity from specific world powers is necessary, the lines break down often with U.S. on one side, and China and/or Russia on the other. 

This has been a hindrance in addressing the nuclear proliferation issues with Iran and the enforceable regulations monitored by IAEA, coupled with the connection that both China and Russia have with Iran in supplying arms and supplying more leniency toward Iran than the U.S.

Which is what makes this a very good situation for the U.S. and the international community (depending on which country you ask) because it takes away a major opposition to the influence of the U.S.  Seriously, the U.S. has a far reach and impact, but Iran and U.S. have not been really diplomatic with one another since 1979.  I think that it is a safe bet that as long as they have neutrality or support from the Russians and Chinese, that any sanctions, however strong  and symbolic, will be dead on arrival.  That is like having a person who you find annoying, come up to you and say that they would rather not associate with you because you don’t see eye to eye.  Not really losing anything by this punishment.

Now if a “friend” is to tell you the same thing, it leaves you fewer legs to stand on to make oneself feel justified and supported in your behavior.  You just might be annoying, something that is easier to ignore when it comes from a person whom you have little connection with, than when a friend tells you the same.

Sanctions are not necessarily the end all consequence with high returns of success.  The one time they were used internationally with tremendous effectiveness was in forcing South Africa to drop its oppressive regime of apartheid in the country – I co-authored a report on the effectiveness of sanctions.  The successes of these sanctions came from:

1. Unity across the globe in terms of what was right and what was wrong and a willingness to act
2. Participation from government and private industry.  The number of firms and companies and entities that divested across the globe was an important influence on operations in S. Africa.

In this case with Iran and forcing them to cooperate through the use of sanctions, we are working on the cooperation component.  Unilateral sanctions are highly ineffective, moreso when we have little stake or influence in the country.  But with the Russians on board, Iran may think twice about negotiations and discussions, because now its safety net just became a bit weaker.

Contributor, Young Writer’s Block
Contributor, The Carmon Report

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