Influential Institutions

Nuclear chess, Russia and China make an expected move

Thursday, June 23, 2011

This week at the Kremlin, Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao confirmed they supported Iran’s right to develop domestic nuclear power. They also emphasized that the West and Iran should resolve the stand off on Iran’s nuclear programme through diplomacy. Such clear support for Tehran will dampen any enthusiasm for a tougher approach towards Iran in Washington or Europe. The West’s concerns though were further heightened this week with the launch of Iran’s second satellite into space. The concern is not the satellite, but the missile which can also carry war heads. There is no sign of the issue going away, but with this expected support from Russia and China, the stakes are very high. It is very important that Christian pray fervently that the arguments over Iran’s nuclear programme does not escalate into war.
Pray for:
• Wisdom for all world leaders regarding Iran’s nuclear programme
• Honesty from all sides
• Compassion for ordinary people