"US challenges Iran with tough questions"

1. The Jerusalem Post
3/5/08
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204546406929&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

2. Summary
This article was basically about the interrogation that the Iranian officials had to go through, due to the suspicions of the U.S. and some European governments. Officials of America and America's allies have come to believe that Iran had information that might be dangerous. This is in addition to "alleged atomic arms experiments." The UN Security Council questioned Iran about things including their possession of information on how to create warheads out of uranium, nuclear weaponry and explosives, schemes of "a missile re-entry vehicle," and plans for underground explosives. Though no one knows whether the allegations of US intelligence are correct, Iranian leaders denied every claim, saying that "it has a right to enrich uranium to create nuclear fuel." Countries in Europe like France, Germany and England also tried to make sure Iran had no nuclear programs in motion, as well as the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) who admitted their concerns.

3. Reaction
a) This article relates to the AP World History Theme State-Building, Expansion, and Conflict, because there is a conflict between Iran, the U.S., and part of Europe. This is all about what organizations and programs Iran may have, and how other nations around Iran may be affected by these programs. Government officials from the aforementioned countries are conversing with each other to figure out the truth and make amends.
b) History. Iran has been accused of possessing facilities that are meant to produce warheads, and other nuclear weapons. During the Clinton administration, and now, during the Bush Administration, officials from the U.S. have been wary of Iran, and have on many occasions voiced their views. So, for a while now, America and its allies have been investigating the possibility that they are engaged in that activity. Though Iran is allowed to have nuclear energy, it really worries people, because supposedly, Iran is using this power to create nuclear weapons to use against its enemies.
c) This article was written by someone from Jerusalem Post, which means they are an Israelite. So, this person is a male or a female, maybe a Jewish person, reporting for Israel. They are not an insider to this issue/conflict.
d) One may want to watch the validity of this article when reading, because it seems like this author may be a little biased against the Iranians and their government. It seems this way because he or she uses the words, "fall on deaf ears... with Iranian officials," "Iran had already dismissed intelligence," making it seem like Iran was kind of mean and rude. Also, I noticed that the section this article was found in was called, "The Iranian Threat," which refers to the dislike that this person must feel towards Iran, and how threatened they feel because of these accusations.
e) What would have been nice to hear was a sampling of the questions that were asked. I think that those would be interesting.That also would help to see what manner the people were going about asking their questions, while trying to clear the air of rumors and figure out the truth.
f) This article was in general, confusing for me. What I don't understand is why the U.S., France, Britain, and Germany feel as if they can be the parents of Iran, and decide whether they are allowed to have nuclear weapons or not. The U.S. can have and does have nuclear weapons. I understand that Iran is in this current state, deemed unstable by the U.N., but what I don't comprehend is why U.S. gets to "challenge Iran with tough questions" as opposed to say, Japan or Russia. I can understand why Iran might be dangerous with nuclear weapons, but so could we. So, I just don't get why Iran has to go on the defensive because they might be plotting to use their nuclear power to create warheads. Overall, this article was interesting to read about, because I'm not the most up-to-date person ever.

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