"... Beijing might consider a more robust stance against Iran, but not if Moscow holds back ..."

OXFAN: Brief

"..... While the missile tests have been portrayed in the international media as a gesture of defiance ahead of Thursday's talks in Geneva with the Permanent Five plus Germany, the timing is probably coincidental. 

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates yesterday said that Washington would push to "broaden and deepen" sanctions, particularly on technology and energy products. He also expressed confidence that the "great powers" were increasingly united against Iran's nuclear ambitions, although administration officials are cautious about the prospects of a major clampdown at this week's meeting. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has appeared to distance himself from Moscow's oft-repeated assertions that Iran's nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful, but it is unclear whether this shift in perception will translate into support for tougher sanctions. Beijing might well consider a more robust stance against Iran, but not if Moscow holds back. The revelation of the existence of a covert uranium enrichment plant whose civilian nuclear energy credentials are dubious offers the West a powerful additional card to play in the forthcoming talks with Tehran and, in the likely event that they do not make rapid progress, in discussions with Moscow and Beijing over significantly tougher sanctions. These factors in turn reduce the likelihood of an early Israeli military strike on any of Iran's nuclear facilities."