Iran

Iran is unique among Middle Eastern Countries. It has a Shiite Muslim majority and was never part of the Ottoman Empire. It has huge oil reserves and a strategic location on the Persian Gulf.

A political revolution in 1978-79 turned the country into an Islamic republic. Iran had grown weary of western culture present in their homeland. They decided to get back to their basic beliefs-- their fundamental Shiite Muslim beliefs. In the midst of this "fundamentalist" revolution, 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage in Tehran for 444 days as a show of solidarity against the west.

From 1980-88, Iran was involved in a brutal war with Iraq. During this war, the U.S. supplied weapons and supplies to Iraq (and secretly to Iran as well), giving away the technology for free to Saddam Hussein.

Since the revolution in 1978-79, Iran has experienced an enormous wave of Islamic fundamentalism. All facets of law and social life are governed by Shiite interpretations of the Islamic faith. Dissidents are crushed.

Iran appears to have gained new technology in the area of nuclear energy. As a member of the "Axis of Evil", they appear to be linked to a network of information with North Korea. Once again, U.S. government officials threw Iran and North Korea together in the same basket and it would not be a surprise if they were working together now. The United States really needs to be careful of doing that. We can't defeat the entire world.

Click Here for a basic overview of Iran (optional)

Nuclear ambitions

"Iran has come under strong pressure from the US since President George W Bush declared it part of an "axis of evil" in 2002. That pressure intensified after the US-led war against Iraq, with Washington accusing Tehran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons and of trying to subvert US efforts in Iraq. Iran, which is building its first atomic power station with Russian help, says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.

"Amid a diplomatic showdown over its nuclear programme, Iran removed seals placed by the UN's nuclear watchdog at some of its research plants and in 2006 announced that it had succeeded in enriching uranium. President Ahmadinejad says Iran has an "inalienable right" to produce nuclear fuel.

"The country has an abundance of energy resources, with reserves of natural gas second only to those of Russia and substantial oil reserves. But it faces the challenge of providing hundreds of thousands of new jobs for its youthful population."

Click Here to read about the CBS interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The interview was conducted in August of 2006 (optional).