In America we call it the almighty dollar and The Almighty figures prominently in all our international transactions. In Russia they refer to their currency as the righteous ruble but in certain international transactions, the word righteous has absolutely no place. Particularly when it comes to, ahem, dual—use technology and arm sales. Today's BBC reports:

Russia plans to sell Tehran 29 TOR M1 mobile surface—to—air missile defense systems in a deal said to be worth about US $700 million (