January25, 2007: The clerical junta that runs Iran shows no intention of halting their nuclear weapons program. Thus all one can hope for is a popular insurrection that would result in a less bellicose government. Absent that, you can go to war with Iran, and remove the religious dictatorship by force. This could lead to the breakup of the country, as about half the population is not ethnic Iranian (an Indo-European people, unlike the other half, which is largely Turkish and Arab). No good prospects here. To make matters worse, Iran threatens to close the Straits of Hormuz, and stop all (except for the ten percent that leaves via pipeline) Persian Gulf oil exports, if anyone interferes with Iranian oil exports (which are essential to the Iranian economy, and preventing a popular uprising.)

January 24, 2007:In the last month, the U.S. has ignored Iraq government orders, and arrested over a dozen Iranian officials operating in Iraq. A few of the senior ones, who clearly had diplomatic immunity, were released. But the rest, several of them senior officials in the Iranian Islamic militia (the force that protects the senior Iranian clerics, the "royal guard," so to speak) are still prisoners. The American interrogators have discovered that these Iranians were coordinating operations of pro-Iranian Shia militias, with Iranian forces (trainers, and logistical experts moving weapons and equipment into Iraq.) At the risk of sparking another torture scandal, the American interrogators have compiled a convincing pile of evidence of Iranian intrusion into Iraqi internal affairs. The Iranian leadership is not happy with the prospect of having to answer for this, although some of the more radical clerics don't care.

January 23, 2007:Russia says it has delivered all 29 Tor-M1 short range anti-aircraft missile systems before the December UN sanctions went into effect. There's some doubt about this, but many, if not most, of the missile systems have been delivered and set up around key facilities (nuclear, industrial, military and government). Iranians who keep track of these things believe that a third, or more, of the 29 Tor-M1 systems are not set up yet, and may have actually been delivered and are just sitting in a warehouse, waiting for Iranian troops to finish training. There are also Russian technicians helping to set the radars and missiles up, and getting everything working.

January 22, 2007:The army is testing two of its missiles systems, the Zalzal and Fajr-5. This is being done largely for propaganda effect. Domestically, it shows Iranians that they are not poor for a reason (Iran is strong militarily) despite all the oil wealth. Actually firing the rockets enables the builders to verify quality control, and gives the troops some practical experience.

January 21, 2007:A team of 38 UN nuclear weapons inspectors were prevented from entering the country. This, obviously, dares the UN to impose more severe sanctions.

January 18, 2007: Iranian president Ahmadinejad is being publicly criticized by his superiors, the senior clerics who have veto power over any government actions. The clerics appear to be trying to shift blame for the nations economic problems onto Ahmadinejad. This is quite a feat, as Ahmadinejad is one of the few honest politicians in Iran. The rest, especially the senior clergy, are notoriously corrupt, and unpopular. The current UN and American sanctions don't help the economy either, but the biggest problems are incompetence and theft by Iranians Islamic conservative leadership.