After years of closure, the wooden barrier at the Iranian-Russian border was lifted last week, and a Russian train rolled across. A Russian bank official stepped out onto Iranian soil, greeted Iranian officials in Russian and presented his credentials.
Inside his train lay 100 packing cases that symbolized Russia's new "policy of leniency" towards Iran: they contained eleven tons of gold ingots worth $12 million.
The gold had long belonged to Iran—it was the agreed Russian payment for Iranian services during World War II, when the Red army occupied the northern half of the country and the British the 29 southern....
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