>> from a geopolitical standpoint this story is significant for two reasons:
>> 1 since the Iranian revolution in 1979, the U.S.'s major geopolitical goal in the perisan gulf (short of overthrowing the Islamic republic) was to impede good relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia
>> 2 Prince Bandar bin Sultan is extremely close to the Bush family: so much so, that apparently they nicknamed him 'Bandar Bush'
During a visit to Moscow last week, the head of the Saudi National Security Council “urged Russia to strive to prevent the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution which the United States could use as justification to launch a military assault to knock out Iran’s nuclear facilities,” the diplomat told AFP in Riyadh on condition of anonymity.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former longtime ambassador to the United States who is often tasked with delicate missions, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on April 4.
Saudi officials did not give details about the meeting. The Russian diplomat said the talks focused on the row over Iran’s nuclear program but did not make clear what Moscow’s response was to the call for restraining the United States.
Several recent reports in the US media raised the possibility that the administration of US President George W. Bush was considering US air strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites.
Bush described the reports as “wild speculation” and said Washington wanted to settle the long-running nuclear standoff between Teheran and the West through diplomacy.
The United States believes Iran is secretly trying to build atomic weapons under cover of a nuclear energy program, allegations Iran has consistently denied.
A Gulf diplomat, who also requested anonymity, said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries were worried about the possibility of US military action against Iran at a time when Iraq is engulfed in what is increasingly turning into civil war.
Gulf Arab states fear the fallout of a US-Iran conflict on the oil-rich region, which has seen three wars since 1980, most recently the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the diplomat said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said last week that Riyadh believes Teheran’s assertions about its nuclear activities.
“That is why we don’t see a danger in Iran acquiring knowledge about nuclear energy provided it does not lead to (nuclear) proliferation. Of course, we believe proliferation is a threat,” he said.
Saud also played down Iran’s recent war games during which it tested new weapons, saying the exercises did not pose a threat to Teheran’s Gulf neighbours.
He also said he would visit Iran soon but did not give a specific date.
Bandar earlier visited China, another permanent UN Security Council member with veto power, a trip diplomats in Riyadh believe was also linked to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear activities.
On March 29, the UN Security Council called on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment to guarantee its nuclear program is peaceful, and asked International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei to report on compliance after 30 days.
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Monday he would not back down “one iota”.