Russia: Bargaining with Bushehr

Russia found another excuse on June 10 to delay the completion of Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility. This time, the head of the Russian company building the plant said no banks were willing to work with the Iranians anymore and that it would have to find another way to finance the project. With just a few weeks remaining before U.S. President Barack Obama makes a trip to Moscow, it comes as little surprise that Russia is pulling out the Bushehr card again to emphasize to Washington the importance of respecting each other's spheres of influence.