And so it begins. Russia has provoked the world's only superpower into Cold War II out of sheer hubris and stupidity. And think about it: The current president of the U.S. likes "President" Putin. Can you imagine what will happen when a president who doesn't like Putin comes to power? Reuters reports:

MOSCOW, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday the U.S. State Department had imposed sanctions on two state-owned Russian arms firms, export agency Rosoboronexport and warplane maker Sukhoi, for selling arms to Iran. "This is a clearly illegitimate attempt to make foreign companies work by internal American rules," the Russian ministry said in a statement.

It said the sanctions had been imposed under a U.S. law which penalises companies for working with Iran in the sphere of weapons of mass destruction.

Iran and Russia signed a $1 billion defence deal in December, Russian media said at the time. Russia agreed to supply TOR-M1 ground-to-air missile systems to the Islamic Republic and also agreed to modernise its air force.

Russia is also building an atomic power station at Bushehr on Iran's Gulf coast.

"These sanctions, which the U.S. unilaterally imposes on other countries and their organisations, are an obvious political and legal anachronism," the ministry said. Sukhoi is developing the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) with U.S. firm Boeing . The statement said the sanctions would stop U.S. companies from working with the two Russian firms.

"The U.S. is punishing its own companies, taking away their possibilities to cooperate with leading Russian companies," the ministry said. LR: "the ministry said" in classic Sovietspeak.