the U.S. supplied both sides with
arms. During the war, the U.S. policy was: let them destroy each
other--a policy that was unworthy of a Christian nation.

At the start of the Bush Presidency there were signs that relations
with Tehran might improve. Positive statements by Secretary of State
Colin Powell were reciprocated by Iranís foreign minister Kamal
Kharrazi. Then came Bushís "axis of evil" speech, which
dashed hopes of a thaw. The current U.S. policy of vilification has
been attributed to Pentagon hawks and to Israeli PM Ariel Sharonís
supporters in the Bush administration. Last November, Sharon called
upon the U.S. to bring about regime change in Tehran, after first
dealing with Iraq. (Mansour Farhang, "A
Triangle of Realpolitik" The Nation, March 17, 2003) And
similar statements have been made by rightist commentators in the U.S.
press.

The U.S. blocked several attemptsby Iran to enlist a contractor to
complete the Bushehr reactor; until, finally, in 1995, after ten years
of shopping, Iran signed a $800 million deal with Victor Mikhailov,
chief of Minatom, the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy. The Russians
agreed to finish reactor-1, and have been on site ever since. The
project has been plagued by technical problems and repeated delays.
The Russian engineers were compelled to modify the original German
design. But, apparently, all of the problems have now been overcome,
and reactor-1, slightly downsized to 1000 Megawatts, is finally
nearing completion. It will go on line as early as December 2003. But
reactor-1 is only the beginning. Iran envisions as many as five
additional 1000 megawatt reactors. Iran has received nuclear
technology from China, Russia, and several other nations. But Russia
has been the principal supplier since the