Yes, there are a lot of problems with Vladamir Putin, but sometimes I don’t think the MSM gives him enough credit for slowing down Iran’s nuclear progress. For example, from Tucker Carlson’s show last night:

CARLSON: But Putin doesn‘t have our interests at heart. Putin wouldn‘t cross the street to save our lives.

But…

Here’s an article from the BBC on Russian and Iranian Nuclear cooperation. An excerpt:

Russia and Iran have signed an agreement for Moscow to supply fuel to Iran’s new nuclear reactor in Bushehr.
Under the deal Iran has to return spent nuclear fuel rods from the reactor, which was designed and built by Russia.
The clause is a safeguard meant to banish fears that Iran might misuse the rods to build nuclear weapons, a concern of the US, Israel and others.
The agreement sets out a time-frame for delivery of the fuel, but officials said the dates would be kept secret.
The BBC’s Frances Harrison in Tehran says the deal is significant because Bushehr will be Iran’s first reactor to go on stream – a project that has become an issue of national prestige in the face of intense US opposition.

The article is from 2005. Bushehr is still unfinished, but there’s yet another agreement from the Russians that they’ll finish it “as soon as possible.”

Moscow, Oct 17 (Prensa Latina) Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday in Tehran that experts from his country will complete the construction of the Busher nuclear plant in Iran.
The Russian Federation has said from the beginning that it would complete the work and that commitment will be honored, said the president.
Putin met twice on Tuesday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to analyze the ways to complete the project, Kremlin Aide Sergei Prijodko told local television.
The first bilateral meeting took place after the Caspian Summit as was planned, but it lasted more than expected, so the two leaders decided to meet again, the source added.
In the second round, held after Putin’s news conference with Iranian media, the presidents reviewed the state of bilateral ties and focused on how to complete the Busher nuclear plant as soon as possible, the aide pointed out.

We’ll see if Russia ever completes the plant. A-Jad actually brought up the delay in construction in his speech at Columbia:

Well, in the past, I tell you, we had contracts with the U.S. government, with the British government, the French government, the German government and the Canadian government on nuclear development for peaceful purposes. But unilaterally, each and every one of them canceled their contracts with us, as a result of which the Iranian people had to pay the heavy cost in billions of dollars.Why do we need the fuel from you? You’ve not even given us spare aircraft parts that we need for civilian aircraft for 28 years, under the name of the embargo and sanctions, because we are against, for example, human rights or freedom? Under that pretext you deny us that technology?We want to have the right to self-determination towards our future. We want to be independent. Don’t interfere in us. If you don’t give us spare parts for civilian aircraft, what is the expectation that you’d give us fuel for nuclear development for peaceful purposes?For 30 years we’ve faced these problems; for over $5 billion to the Germans and then to the Russians, but we haven’t gotten anything, and the worst have not been completed. It is our right, we want our right, and we don’t want anything beyond the law, nothing less than what international law. We are a peaceful-loving nation. We love all nations.

It’s big business selling Iran half finished construction projects. Here’s an interesting collection of Iranian bloggers who think Putin is stringing Iran along (yet again) on the nuclear plant in order to gain concessions on a bigger economic issue, the distribution of resources in the Caspian Sea. An excerpt from one of the posts:

Kaghz Pareh (means piece of Paper) says [Fa] that in order to get Russia’s support on the nuclear issue, the Iranian government has put Iran for sale. The blogger says the next generation will suffer for what happens today.

Putin may put Russia first, but I don’t think for a minute that he’s going to side with Iran against the US.