The problem with Iran: led by a radical new president, Iran may be only a few years away from being able to build a nuclear weapon. The U.S. and the U.N. are struggling to respond.

Few world leaders have proved as adept at getting attention as Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Last October, three months after his surprise election victory, he effectively called for wiping Israel and the United States off the map. And in December, he proclaimed the Holocaust "a myth" invented by European leaders so that they could create Israel in the middle of the Islamic world.

But what really keeps leaders in Washington, Europe, and the Middle East awake at night is Ahmadinejad's (pronounced ah-ma-DEE-nay-jahd) hard-line stance on Iran's nuclear program, which many suspect is secretly a push to acquire nuclear weapons.

In January, Iran resumed its research on uranium enrichment in defiance of a 14-month-old agreement with European leaders to suspend most of its nuclear work. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful domestic purposes, such as electric power generation, but it has refused to let international examiners inspect some of its well-hidden research facilities, as required under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. "You cannot prevent Iran's progress," Ahmadinejad said last month.

The U.S., Britain, and other countries suspect Iran is at least three to five years away from being able to enrich enough uranium and build a bomb. If Iran were to acquire a nuclear arsenal, it could threaten Israel (which is believed to have nuclear weapons, though it has never officially acknowledged it) and Europe, and further destabilize the entire Middle East.

SANCTIONS?

The Bush administration and its allies in Europe want the U.N. Security Council to consider imposing economic sanctions on Iran to force it to cooperate. But Ahmadinejad has dismissed the threat and vowed that Iranian nuclear engineers will press ahead.

At home, Ahmadinejad is reviled as a religious extremist by moderate Iranians--he has already issued a ban on Western music. But he also has what appears to be a growing base of support, especially from religious conservatives and the poor. He has traveled the country, promising economic aid, wearing simple clothing, and using the religion-infused language that won him many votes.

"He is leading a simple life," says Zabiollah Baderlou, 18, a bakery worker in Tehran. "He is making these efforts for the people, and all he wants is Iran's dignity."

Ahmadinejad was the largely unknown mayor of Tehran when he ran for office last June, a blacksmith's son who had served in the hard-line Basiji militia--a volunteer Islamic vigilante force--and the Revolutionary Guard.

In part, his surprise victory was attributed to the disgust many Iranians have felt about a government widely viewed as corrupt and uncaring, and at the failure of a reform movement to make significant strides in recent years. The presidency has limited powers, since the government is controlled by unelected mullahs (Islamic religious leaders) who have veto power over laws passed by Iran's legislature.

'WORLD OPPRESSOR'

Ahmadinejad is doing exactly what he promised in the election, resurrecting the priorities of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, and chastising the West at every turn. (After his election, he vehemently denied accusations that he was one of the student radicals who took over the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, holding dozens of Americans hostage for more than a year.) He calls the U.S. the "World Oppressor" in place of "the Great Satan," the epithet popularized by Khomeini.

Iran's nuclear ambitions present a dicey problem for President Bush, who in 2002 called Iran part of an "axis of evil," along with Iraq and North Korea. In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, Bush announced a policy of pre-emptive military action to prevent threats before they materialize. The question is, how does that policy apply to Iran?

The irony to some observers is that although Iraq turned out not to possess the weapons of mass destruction that Bush accused them of hiding, there is a much greater consensus around the world that Iran is on the cusp of becoming a nuclear power.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

However, any sort of military action by the U.S. or the U.N., while viewed as unlikely, could have the effect of rallying even moderate Iranians around Ahmadinejad. That would further weaken the reform movement in Iran that has long sought greater democracy, more social freedoms, and better ties to the West--all of which makes President Bush's dilemma that much trickier.

Michael Slackman, Cairo bureau chief for The New York Times

BACKGROUND

The roots of Iran's anti-Western feelings run to 1953, when Britain and the U.S. supported the ouster of President Mohammad Mossadegh. Then the CIA returned the pro-Western Shah Reza Pahlavi from exile. The Shah was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution led by the Ayatollah Ruhottah Khomeini.

CRITICAL THINKING

* Ask students whether or under what conditions the U.S. has a right to pressure other countries to change their policies if those policies seem to threaten peace and security.

* Remind students that other nations besides the U.S. have nuclear weapons. How does the fact that Britain, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and probably Israel, have such weapons influence the debate over whether Iran should be able to possess them?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Why do you think President Ahmadinejad might want to ban Western music? (Hard-line ideologues often outlaw what they see as inferior foreign culture. Both the Nazis and the Soviets outlawed "decadent" art and music.)

* If Iran's nuclear research is meant only for electric power production, why do you think the country won't allow international inspectors to examine its nuclear facilities? (It could be a matter of national pride, or Iran might be hiding something.)

* How do you think the U.S. and other Western democracies might react if Iran successfully produced nuclear weapons? Suggest two courses the West might take.

* Should the U.S. and its allies use military force against Iran's nuclear facilities if Iran does not open them to inspection?

WRITING PROMPT

Write a brief essay explaining why Iran's system of religious leaders overseeing lawmaking would not work in the U.S.

FAST FACTS

* In 2001, Iranians held candlelight vigils in sympathy with Americans after the 9/11 attacks.

* Many Americans mispronounce the name of the country; it is e-ron.

WEB WATCH

www.irna.ir/en/The Islamic Republic News Agency presents news events in English from the perspective of the government of Iran.

QUIZ 3 > INTERNATIONAL

THE PROBLEM WITH IRAN > Pages 18-19

1. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has issued a ban on

a Western music.

b education for women.

c travel

d diplomatic relations with Western countries.

2. Although he has been criticized by educated urbanites for his religiously based views, President Ahmadinejad has gained support in rural areas for his promise to

a step up religious education.

b increase economic aid in poor regions.

c deport foreign workers who are living in Iran illegally.

d increase exports of Iranian products.

3. Ahmadinejad, though the former mayor of Tehran, was largely unknown before his erection fast year. In part, his erection is thought to be the result of

a his conservative religious views.

b economic aid received from other Muslim countries.

c disgust with the corruption in the former government.

d concerns about the U.S.-led war in neighboring Iraq.

4. Iran's presidency actually has limited powers because

a Iran is only one of many MiddLe East nations.

b religious leaders' control the government.

c other Muslim nations oppose nuclear power.

d of constitutional constraints.

5. The article refers to the "unintended consequences" of a Western invasion of Iran. Briefly explain what those unintended consequences might be. --

IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS

1. Between November 1979 and January 1981, Iran held 52 Americans hostage. If a moderate government should some day return to Iran, should the U.S. leave this incident in the past, or should it demand some kind of reparations in exchange for diplomatic ties?

2. Why do you suppose that Ahmadinejad--or anyone--would call the Holocaust a myth?

1. [a] Western music.

2. [b] increase economic aid in poor areas.

3. [c] disgust with corruption in the former government.

4. [b] religious leaders control, the government.

5. An invasion might rally moderate Iranians around the radical. President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (Similar wording is acceptable.)