Iran's Response (A Think)

News outlets around the world are reporting on Iran's response to the United Nations. After the Security Council demanded that Iran stop its nuclear initiatives, which Iran has said is for energy not military purposes, the country formally responded that it is ready to enter into serious dialogue with the United States and the European Union. Iran did not say that it would cease its nuclear activities. (Iran has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.) The permanent members of the Security Council, with the possible exception of the United States, are hoping to avoid more confrontation with this major oil supplier. A Washington Post article stated:

Last month, the Security Council passed a resolution making a suspension mandatory and threatening Iran with economic sanctions if it did not comply by Aug. 31. Without a commitment to do so, the Iranian counteroffer appeared unlikely to ease a tense, years-long standoff over what Tehran insists is an energy program but Washington believes is a covert effort to develop nuclear weapons.

Lesson Ideas
1. Since the late 1970s, when American hostages were kept in the American embassy in Tehran, Iran, the American government has opposed fundamentalist religious government in Iran. Ask students why they think that our government would be opposed to a government governed by religious leaders and religious principles instead of the popular will of the people. Encourage them to support their opinions. Ask students if they think that a democratic nation should be opposed to nations ruled completely by religious principles. This might be an interesting idea to have students blog about.
2. Iran is a major oil supplier. Perhaps one of the reasons that many countries around the world want to approach Iran more kindly than the United States wants to approach it, is because the country provides them with oil. Ask students to consider why oil is so important. You might ask students to create a collage of the many ways that oil is used in the world. A collage might even be made on the computer by having students cut and past pictures into a word document. (I'm sure there are better ways to do this, I just don't know how.)
3. Invite students to pretend that they are policymakers at the U.N. Security Council. Ask how they would respond to Iran if they represented the United States. What if they represented France? You might encourage students to compare news articles written on Iran's response coming from French newspapers, such as this one with an article entitled "Iran Sanctions Could Fracture Coalition."
4. Tell students to pretend that they are Iranians. How would they respond to this situation? The AFP, an international news agency has published an article stating that many Iranian leaders think that the country should pull out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.