Country on the east side of the Arabian gulf. Iran is ethnically diverse with Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs living there.
Iran used to be a monarcy run by the Shar, but he was corrupt, and liked to use his
police a bit too much, many people were dirt poor also. The west backed the Shar but during 1978-1979 the Islamic Revolution occured, and Iran's religious elite (the clerics) siezed
power.
Iran today is a kind of semi-democracy, and so is ironically much more legitimate than most of the US 'allies' in the region. However the ruling religious elite are a
hot minded bunch who see themselves in the van of a gradiose world-historical movement in which their interpretation of Islam
will triumph over their enemies (and incidently give them alot of power).
The Iranians grand ambitions are now manifest in their quest to develop nuclear weapons. They also like to sound off about Israel, the Holocaust, interpretations of Western history, The Crusades, anything which
will give them some attention basically.
If the Iranians get close to full enrichment Israel
will strike with or without US backing, this
will throw the region into
chaos. If the US strike the same thing
will happan. If the US invades it
will be insane and the end of superpower status, but the alternative?
