Besides Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein's Iraq is the other prime suspect in the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Hussein regime had the resources and the motive, evidence suggests Iraq had a hand in the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993. Iraq would be the likely safe-haven for the Al Qaida leadership if they are smoked out of Afghanistan.

Iran fought a bloody war with Iraq in the 1980s and has no love for a regime that supports dissident anti-Iranian guerilla groups. At the same time, Iran has broad political and spiritual influence with the clear majority of Iraqis who belong to the Shia sect of Islam. In fact, this influence is so broad it was a major factor in the U.S. decision not to overthrow Saddam Hussein in the wake of the Gulf War for fear of a pro-Iranian state replacing him.

By befriending a moderate Iran that fear disappears.

But wait a minute. Iran isn't moderate. It supports terrorism, is hostile to the Middle East peace process, is actively trying to develop nuclear weapons and oppresses its people.

• It is true that certain organizations within Iran, funded by hard-line factions within the government, support violent groups like Hizbullah and Hamas. However, as recent evidence confirms, that can also be said about certain organizations and individuals within countries that are our staunchest allies in the region, such as SaudiArabia and Pakistan. Moderates -- like Iranian president Mohammad Khatami -- find the business of terrorism increasingly costly when they are at the same time trying to re-engage with the Western world. Accelerating and deepening this re-engagement makes terrorism only more counter-productive for the Iranians tate. The best wayto reign in Iranian support for terrorism is to work through the Iranian government who can crack down on terrorist support and funding.
  
  
• What about Iran's angry rhetoric against the Arab-Israeli peace process? This is more bark than bite from a country that doesn't share a border with Israel. Now that the Israeli army has completely withdrawn from Lebanon, Hizbullah is an organization without a purpose and can no longer be used by Iran as an effective lever to influence the peace process. America has found ways to work with other countries, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who are critical of Israel and its policies. Iran should be no exception.
  
  
• But isn't Iran trying to develop nuclear weapons? Yes, but they have also been a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty since 1970 and have agreed to constant monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, something other American allies such as Israel and Pakistan have refused to allow.

  Iran wants nuclear weapons not because it wants to go on the offensive against the West or Israel, a suicide mission for a regime concerned more these days with survival than exporting revolution. Since Iraqi missiles struck Iranian cities in the 1980s, Iran wants nuclear arms as a defensive deterrent. The prudent way to moderate the development and use of these weapons is to engage the current regime, not isolate it,causing a paranoid siege mentality within the Iranian leadership.

But there is a more fundamental reason we must embrace Iran that goes beyond realpolitik. Despite the extremism and intolerance of its mullahs, the Iranian people have a similar history and share many of America's core values. These values are not empty words borrowed from a Western textbook. These are ideals that have been fought for with blood in the only genuinely popular revolution in the region.

It is difficult for Americans to see this given the images in our minds of hostages and fundamentalist revolution. But like America, and un-like any other Muslim nation, Iran has had a long tradition, stretching back to the Tobacco Revolt of 1890, of broad-based resistance to the tyranny of kings

Today, Iran is the only Muslim country in the world that has developed homegrown democratic institutions that have insured a peaceful transition of power for over two decades..

Unlike Turkey and Pakistan, the military in Iran is not an active player in domestic politics, capable of dismissing governments at will.

And unlike other states in the region that have flirted with democracy by establishing hollow, top-down institutions with no real authority, Iranian democracy has tentacles that reach deep down to the local level.

In February 1999, according to the Washington Post, voters in 730 cities and 40,000 villages elected about 200,000 local councilmembers across the country, including more than 500 women.

The recent attacks have created a unique window of opportunity for détente between Iran and America. At a time of violent anti-American demonstrations across the Muslim world, even within countries firmly allied to America, Iran has distinguished itself through extraordinary sympathy for America. President Khatami's message to President Bush condemning the terrorist attacks and Tehran mayor Morteza Alviri's message of condolence to New York's Rudolph Giuliani were the first directgovernment-to-government communications between America and Iran in more than 20 years.

But the compassion in Iran is not just official. It extends further down to the populace, among journalists, seminary students, and everyday people alike. A minute of silence dedicated to the victims of the tragedies in America was observed at a World Cup soccer game in Iran several days after the attacks.

Are these the actions of a hostile government and populace, prone to burning American flags and chanting "Death to America"?

Much has been written on whether Islam and democracy are compatible. Iran is the only Muslim nation where they are beginning to coexist. It could be a "nation-building" model in the Muslim world for accountable, representative, stable government that also respects religious traditions. Iran's democracy is not perfect. Civil liberties are curtailed and a Council of Guardians, dominated by authoritarian mullahs, approves candidates fo roffice. (Like our Electoral College in the 2000 Presidential election, they don't always endorse the most popular person for the job). But Iran is certainly further along the road to democracy than many of the regimes America supports in the Middle East and elsewhere. America can encourage further development and serve its strategic interests at the same time by fully re-engaging Iran.