Putin Delays Tehran Trip Amid Assassination Warnings
TEHRAN, Iran — President Putin of Russia pledged yesterday to negotiate with Iran on behalf of the international community in their nuclear standoff, although he didn't come to Tehran as scheduled amid warnings of a possible assassination plot.
Mr. Putin's planned trip, the first here by a Kremlin leader since World War II, raised hopes that personal diplomacy could find a solution to the impasse over the Iranian nuclear program, but he delayed his arrival, which had been set for yesterday evening.
The Russian leader insisted to reporters in Germany that he was going ahead with the trip, but the Kremlin declined to discuss details. The official Iranian news agency said late yesterday that Mr. Putin had only put off his trip by several hours and would be in Tehran early today in time for a Caspian region summit.
"Putin will arrive in Tehran at the head of a delegation tomorrow morning," the Islamic Republic News Agency said, quoting Iran's presidential press service. Iran gave no further details, and Kremlin officials wouldn't comment on reasons for the delay or say exactly when Mr. Putin would arrive. Officials in Germany, where Mr. Putin wrapped up a two-day visit, said they could not say where the Russian leader was. Mr. Putin's trip was first thrown into doubt when the Kremlin said Sunday that he had been informed by Russian special services that suicide attackers might try to kill him in Tehran, but he shrugged off the warning yesterday.
"Of course, I am going to Iran," he said after talks with Chancellor Merkel of Germany. "If I always listened to all the various threats and the recommendations of the Special Services, I would never leave home."
The remark played into the carefully crafted image of a fearless leader that Mr. Putin has cultivated, and also appeared aimed at emphasizing that he is in control — not under undue influence from security officials — as he maneuvers to maintain influence after his presidential term ends next year.
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, dismissed reports about the purported assassination plot as disinformation spread by adversaries hoping to spoil good relations between Russia and Iran. Mr. Putin has warned America and other nations against trying to coerce Iran into reining in its nuclear program and insists peaceful dialogue is the only way to deal with Tehran's defiance of a U.N. Security Council demand that it suspend uranium enrichment.
"Threatening someone, in this case the Iranian leadership and Iranian people, will lead nowhere," Mr. Putin said in Germany. "They are not afraid, believe me."
