It's the Oil, Stupid: U.S. policy for Iran

The entry for Iran has a clip that gives an indication of the somewhat complicated Iranian government system:

The Constitution defines the President as the highest state authority after the Supreme Leader. The President is elected by universal suffrage, by those 16 years old and older, for a term of four years. Presidential candidates must be approved by the Council of Guardians prior to running. The President is responsible for the implementation of the Constitution and for the exercise of executive powers, except for matters directly related to the Supreme Leader. The President appoints and supervises the Council of Ministers, coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the legislature. Eight Vice-Presidents serve under the President, as well as a cabinet of 21 ministers, who must all be approved by the legislature. Unlike many other states, the executive branch in Iran does not control the armed forces. Although the President appoints the Ministers of Intelligence and Defense, it is customary for the President to obtain explicit approval from the Supreme Leader for these two ministers before presenting them to the legislature for a vote of confidence.

As you can see, there are checks on every office of the government including the Supreme Leader. Suffrage is universal. Read the rest of the article.

The economy:

Although petroleum plays a central part in Iran's exports, Iran's non-oil exports hit the $12 Billion mark in 2005[3], as Iran continues to diversify its economy.

Iran's former president Khatami followed the market reform plans of former President Rafsanjani and indicated that he would pursue diversification of Iran's oil-reliant economy although he made little progress toward that goal. The strong oil market in 1996 helped ease financial pressures on Iran and allowed for Tehran's timely debt service payments. Iran's financial situation tightened in 1997 and deteriorated further in 1998 because of lower oil prices. The subsequent zoom 1999 afforded Iran fiscal breathing room but does not solve Iran's structural economic problems. Iran's current president Ahmadinejad has promised sweeping economic reform, including widespread social services and an elimination of Iran's stock market.

I should include this selection concerning Human Rights in Iran:

The violation of human rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to be significant, despite many efforts by Iranian human right activists, writers, NGOs and some political parties. Human rights in Iran face the issues of governmental impunity, restricted freedom of speech, gender inequality and discrimination against minorities and "outsiders" amongst other issues. Despite severe national and some international criticism, the Islamic government of Iran still continues to disregard the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in several aspects.

Human rights in Iran can be said to derive from two elements; firstly, traditional Islam and the Sharia law allow for significant gender inequality, gay persecution, as well as other internationally criticized practices such as stoning as a method of execution. Secondly, the Iranian government itself, in its continual drive to secure its own political power base, as well as to maintain centralized control over a fragmented multi-ethnic society, disregards human rights. However, the situation of human rights under the Islamic regime is far better than in many Middle Eastern countries, where women lack the rights to vote or receive education and all media is state-run.

While these allegations are serious and pressure should be exerted to correct them, they pale in comparison other nations that enjoy favorable status among U.S. trading partners.

Tags: oil, Middle East, Corporations, U.S. Foreign Policy, Bush Administration, Iran