We’ve done several blog posts here about the geopolitical importance of Iran in terms of EU energy security vis-à-vis Gazprom’s dominant position, and the careful dance between Moscow, Tehran, and the international community over nuclear issues. Today, as world leaders meet in Shanghai to discuss Iran (and likely not make much progress), one of the issues of enormous concern to Moscow, but not picked up by many in the media, is the proposal to boost the EU-Iran energy trade. Analysts argue that Moscow has an interest in making sure these bellicose tensions between Iran and the West last as long as possible to stall progress on Iranian gas (hence their moves in China today) – but they are not so committed to Tehran that progress on the Bushehr reactor site isn’t slowed by every imaginable bureaucratic snag.