Medvedev says Russia might back Iran sanctions

The statement, made in an interview with Der Spiegel, the German news magazine and released by the Kremlin, resembles one Medvedev made in September after meeting with President Obama in New York. But it takes on added significance now because Iran has equivocated on the international agreement. That deal would require Iran to ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country for processing, easing fears that the fuel would be used for nuclear bombs.

“If agreements are reached on the programs linked to uranium enrichment and its use for peaceful purposes in Iran, we will with pleasure take part in these programs,’’ Medvedev said. “If the Iranian leadership takes a less constructive position, then anything is possible, in theory.

“We would not want this to end in imposing sanctions under international law, because sanctions, as a rule, are a complex and dangerous path,’’ he continued. “But if there is no forward movement, no one can rule out this scenario.’’

Russia has traditionally opposed sanctions against Iran, which it considers an important regional ally. In September, Medvedev signaled a policy shift after meeting with Obama, but Moscow remained reluctant; as recently as last month, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov called sanctions “counterproductive.’’ Still, Moscow may be left with no choice if Iran rejects the uranium enrichment plan, which Russia helped draft under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

During meetings with his British counterpart recently, Lavrov said he expected the plan “to be approved by all sides without exception, including Iran.’’

“In a sense, I think this is a red line,’’ said Vladimir Sotnikov, an Iran analyst at the Center for International Security in Moscow. “What I think is that probably Russia will try again to postpone this red line as much as possible. But Iran is not giving Russia a choice.’’

News of the accord - supported by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - led to a political uproar in Iran, where his critics said the country was giving up too much to the West.

Tehran then began backing away from the deal, saying it would not abide by the original terms but that it had alternative proposals.

Yesterday, a senior Iranian lawmaker kept up the pressure on the government to reject the deal.

The lawmaker, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, told the semiofficial news agency ISNA that the deal was “called off,’’ although he also said that Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, was “in talks’’ to try to find alternatives to the deal.

Boroujerdi rejected the notion that there was a deadline for responding to the deal.