Middle East Notes and Comment: Red Dawn

Russian support for a December 23, 2006 UN Security Council resolution threatening Iran with sanctions hardly means Russia has become a force for stability in the Middle East. Immediately after signing on to a broad international effort to pressure Iran to drop uranium enrichment and reprocessing, Russia rang in 2007 by delivering sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems to Iran, which the Islamic Republic will allegedly deploy around its key nuclear facilities. Though the weapons delivery does not violate the latest UNSC resolution, it certainly violates the spirit.