The Iran card?
The complex nation whose leader once called America "the Great Satan" -- and whose people cheer our soccer teams -- may play an increasingly important role in American strategic planning.

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By Max Garrone and Anthony York

Oct. 1, 2001 | As the United States struggles to put together a coalition against world terrorism, it is being forced to take a crash course in the topsy-turvy politics of the Middle East, where yesterday's enemies may be tomorrow's friends. And one of the most intriguing players -- and a potential U.S. strategic partner -- is a state that just a few years ago was one of America's most implacable enemies: Iran.

In an act reflecting a convergence of U.S.-Iranian interests -- not the first such overlap in recent years -- the Iranian government gave tacit support to the United States' efforts to target Osama bin Laden, whom the Bush administration has described as the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. President Mohammad Khatami has reportedly signaled to the U.S. that his government would not oppose military strikes against specific targets in Afghanistan.

Iran's support for U.S. action is highly qualified. But the fact that it signed on at all to Bush's campaign against terrorism opens the possibility of a thaw between the two nations.
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