By: Reza Shafa
Despite the mullahs' jubilations over last month's trip by former Deputy Commander of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Brig. Gen. Mohammad-Baqer Zolqadr who is also Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs to Moscow, the Kremlin officials tried to play down the trip. Zolqadr is one of 15 Iranians listed for involvement in nuclear or ballistic missile activities in the March 24 UN Security Council Resolution 1747. The resolution was adopted to punish Iran for failing to stop enrichment of uranium - a process that can produce the material for nuclear bombs.

"Despite resolution 1747 which imposed a travel ban on some members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including me, I traveled to Russia and no restriction was applied," the official news agency IRNA quoted Zolqadr as saying on April 9.

"The Iranian official's real intention of visiting Moscow was to receive a first-hand assessment from his northern neighbor on how imminent might a military strike be on Iran's nuclear facilities by either of the three; the U.S., the U.K. or Israel," said a specialist on Iran-Russia relationship, Rajab Sarafov in an interview with  radio Eco of Moscow on April 15.

Zolqadr requested to meet the Russia's Minister of the Interior Army, General Rashid Nurgaliyev and Emergency Minister, Sergey Shoigu. Fearing its disclosure, the Russian turned down the request. Instead, they arranged a meeting with Vladimir Mochalov, Head of Border Control Services.

 Not trusting the mullahs, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a formal statement reaffirming that no violation occurred because it had followed the resolution's requirement to inform the UN of Zolgadr's visit. "In accordance with these conditions, the Russian Foreign Ministry informed the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council in good time of the visit of B. Zolqadr," the release stated.

To rub salt in the wound, upon his return to Tehran, Zolqadr victoriously pointed out that Russia had voted for the U.N. restrictions on Iran, and "the visit indicated ineffectiveness of the resolution."

There are for sure some lessons to be learned by Russians, an editorial in one of Russia's papers the next day after Zolqader's controversial visit suggested, "It is not [Vladimir] Putin who plays in his relationship with Washington with his Iranian winning card. It is the other way around. It is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad playing a game with Washington using a Russian winning card."   

Reza Shafa is an expert on the Iranian regime's intelligence networks, both in Iran and abroad. He has done extensive research on VAVAK (MOIS), IRGC's Intelligence Office, and Quds Force among others. Currently he is a contributor to NCRI website.