BICOM

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton relayed a message to Iranian leaders that nuclear negotiations scheduled for April are Iran’s last chance to avoid a military strike, according to the Russian daily Kommersant. The message was reportedly conveyed when Clinton met with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday, after a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East. The report noted Russian diplomats at the United Nations believed a diplomatic breakthrough was urgently needed to avoid military action by Israel or the US. Iran has agreed to renew talks over its nuclear programme, which will be attended by the P5+1 group of permanent Security Council members and Germany. Russia maintains close diplomatic and commercial relations with Iran and has so far resisted harsh sanctions against the regime.

In related news, Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov told journalists on Tuesday that Security Council restrictions on military-technical cooperation with Iran prevented Russia from providing S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Tehran. The S-300 is regarded as one of the most sophisticated systems of its type in the world, and Iran has tried to obtain it from Moscow for years. If obtained, the missiles could significantly complicate any future air strike against Iran.