When President Barack Obama and President Dmitri Medvedev pledged last month in London to "chart a fresh start" in U.S.-Russian relations, Iran's nuclear program was among the key areas of cooperation. Forging a common position on Iran will be a difficult task, however, as Russian strategic interests in Iran diverge sharply from those of the United States. The Obama administration has promised "crippling sanctions" if dialogue with Iran fails, but Russian support of such measures seems unlikely. Nuclear technology and military hardware contracts with Iran bring billions of dollars into Russia's coffers, while the Kremlin's opposition to sanctions in the United Nations Security Council has boosted Russia's image as a world power equal to the United States, a protector of a key Muslim state, and a central player in the Middle East. 

Earlier this year, the Obama administration hinted at a "grand bargain" of scaling down or abandoning missile defense in Europe in exchange for Russian assistance in addressing the Iranian nuclear threat. Will that be enough to persuade Russia to give up all the geostrategic benefits of its current stance on Iran? How does Russia define its interests in the Iranian nuclear problem? Are there grounds for agreement between the United States and Russia on Iran? At this AEI event, a group of leading experts on Russian and U.S. policy toward Iran will address these and other questions.