Iran today presents a serious foreign policy challenge to the United States. The growing prominence of security concerns: escalation of tensions over Iran’s continued development of a nuclear capability, the country’s role in Iraq and Afghanistan and support for Hamas and Hezbollah have preoccupied U.S. foreign policy. The election of a hard‐line president in Iran in 2005, who has adopted a belligerent rhetoric, has added urgency to contending with these challenges.