Iran is a tease

Moscow

Russia this week denied Iran’s claim that the two countries had reached a breakthrough in talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Moscow had proposed that Iran outsource its enrichment of uranium to Russia, which would allay international fears that Iran could use its nuclear energy program as a cover for a secret nuclear bomb program. After months of coyly hinting that they might consider the plan, Iranian diplomats said this week that they had reached an agreement with Russia. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the two sides had merely worked out the logistics of outsourcing, and that Iran is still insisting on pursuing a small-scale uranium enrichment program “for research purposes.”