Yesterday, Washington offered to join its European allies in efforts to restore the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. Party to the original agreement, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are not only the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany, but also Russia, China, and Iran itself—and the last three will have to assent in order for America to modify and rejoin the agreement. Anna Borshchevskaya urges the White House to bear in mind that the Kremlin will want to play any role but a helpful one:
Moscow assisted Iran’s nuclear program for years. A Russian state-run [company] helped the Iranians complete the Bushehr nuclear power plant and officially gave them control of the facility in September 2013, two years before the JCPOA was reached. In this context it should not be a s surprise that Russian support of the JCPOA was crucial to the Obama administration. Russia’s role will be critical now as well. And . . . the Biden administration should prepare for Russia to complicate, rather than support, its efforts.
Moscow long opposed the tough sanctions that brought Iran to the JCPOA negotiating table in the first place. Typically, Russian officials sought to dilute sanctions on Iran and minimized the threat of the Iranian nuclear program. . . . The Kremlin’s ultimate cooperation on the JCPOA was no favor to Washington; rather it was driven by self-interest. The deal allowed Moscow to expand ties with Tehran, extract concessions from Washington, and bolster Russia’s position as a regional counterweight to the West.
More broadly, the deal came at a time when the Russia-Iran relationship had arisen to unprecedented heights. This happened because Moscow and Tehran shared common geostrategic goals of reducing Western influence in the Middle East, including a mutual convergence of interests in Syria. . . . The convergence of Russian and Iranian interest remains the case to this day, while the Iran deal is now a top bilateral agenda item.
Now, as in the past, Moscow continues to play a double game with the West. It acts as both a ready partner and Iran’s lawyer. . . . Biden and his team made clear they want to be tough on Russia on a wide range of issues. . . . [I]f Washington is treating Moscow as hostile power in Europe, why give it a free pass with its allies?
Read more on National Interest: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/don%E2%80%99t-expect-russia-help-save-iran-deal-178264