Russia is considering providing Iran with more nuclear aid amid escalating tensions between Moscow and Washington, a report says.

"Everything has changed since the war in Georgia. What seemed impossible before is more than possible now when our friends become our enemies," the Sunday Times quoted a source close to the Russian military.

According to the source, the Kremlin is considering sending nuclear experts to Tehran and inviting Iranian nuclear scientists to Moscow for training.

The report comes days after the US announced a one-billion-dollar aid package for Georgia following the conflict in South Ossetia.

The conflict, which began with Georgia's military offensive into the de-facto region to reclaim it by force, resulted in the loss of 2,000 lives and the displacement of 40,000 people.

Russia has accused the Bush administration of orchestrating the conflict and giving the green light to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to carry out the assault.

The war of words between Moscow and Washington intensified after one of the most sophisticated US warships, USS Mount Whitney, docked at the Georgian port of Poti to deliver 'humanitarian aid' on September 5.

Russian peacekeepers have set up checkpoints in Poti as part of a French-brokered ceasefire.

The Kremlin suspects the White House used USS Mount Whitney to deliver weapons to Georgia in a bid rearm the pro-Western government in Tbilisi.

US calls for NATO's eastward expansion have also angered Russia after US Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that, "Georgia will be in our alliance."

"Russia will respond. A number of possibilities are being considered, including hitting America there where it hurts most - Iran," the source told the Sunday Times.

Considering that the US accuses Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of seeking nuclear weapons, increased Russian nuclear assistance to Iran would intensify tensions between Moscow and Washington.

In the past decade, Russia has helped Iran build its first nuclear power plant, capable of annually generating some 1,000 megawatts of electricity, in the southern city of Bushehr.

According to the Russian envoy to Tehran, Alexander Sadovnikov, the construction of the power station has been delayed for about a decade due to the 'sanctions imposed by Western powers'.

Suffering from electricity shortage, Iran has been forced to adopt a rationing program by scheduling power outages - of up to two hours a day - across both urban and rural areas in the country.

MD/HGH