A few years ago, RA had a series of blog posts arguing that in terms of geopolitical interests, energy, and simple geography, Washington and Tehran could find that they have much more in common than the fiery and hostile diplomacy (or lack thereof) might dictate. Russia’s mild protection of Iran from sanctions in the UN represents not a true alliance or mutually rewarding friendship, but rather the maintenance of a “swing position” whereby Moscow can ensure that Iran and the United States continue to have poor relations, and especially prevent Iran’s natural gas sector from developing into a competing supplier to Gazprom (enormous amounts of foreign capital are required). Indeed, many policy analysts have explicitly identified the urgency of including Iranian supply in order to make the Nabucco pipeline a possibility (not that Dick Cheney understands this…). Photo: An Iranian police stands guard in front of a picture of Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei next to the municipality of Tehran October 7, 2008. (Source: Reuters)