Moscow-Tehran-Washington

Of all the analyses of the current stand-off between Russia and the U.S. over the Iran nuclear threat, those of Sky's Tim Marshall have struck me as being among the more perceptive. For one thing, it was Marshall who noted the presence of Russian officials, including the nuclear agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko,at the opening of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant - a development that cast strong doubt on the likelihood that Russia will co-operate with the other UN permanent five members to compel Iran to open up all its facilities for inspection - missile defence deal or no. Now, Marshall suggests, the last hope may lie with the prospects of talks between Tehran and Washington. Marshall has another article on the subject today in his blog.