North Korea as the three major threats to American interests
worldwide because of their weapons development programs and
alleged support of terrorist organizations. The United States sent
aid to Iran after a December 2003 earthquake killed more than
thirty thousand people. The Tehran government, however,
refused to allow Bush to dispatch a humanitarian delegation to
the stricken area. It would have been the first formal visit by U.S.
officials to Iran in more than 20 years.
Even though it attracts world attention less frequently or
prominently than it did during the revolution, Iran still is
perceived by many outsiders as a closed, intolerant, dangerous
country. Fen Montaigne, writing for National Geographicmaga-
zine in 1999, explained that “change comes in fits and starts”
as progressives in Iran struggle against unbending leadership.
“Newspapers proliferate, exploring the limits of the allowable,
and then are shut down. Reform politicians ...are convicted on
dubious corruption charges; five critics of the regime are mysteri-
ously killed, and the government announces that rogue agents of
the Intelligence Ministry have been arrested for the slayings.
“As the larger struggle has unfolded in Iran, many citizens have
watched quietly, hoping Khatami and the reformers will prevail.”^78
Shiite leaders have at their disposal a secret police organization
called the SAVAMA and a paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. They
appoint the Muslim watchdog komitehsthat observe activities in
towns and communities, university campuses, and industrial work-
places. The komitehs, organized at the behest of Khomeini during
the revolutionary period, demand strict adherence to Islam and the
Islamic government. During the early 1980s, they established them-
selves as merciless persecutors of suspected troublemakers, and they
executed countless individuals whom they considered enemies of
the new republic. Today, they continue to monitor publications
and broadcasting operations to see that all published statements are
in line with the aims of the Revolutionary Council. Punishment is
harsh for criticism of the government.
Basically, Iran since the revolution has functioned as the Shiite-
controlled state Khomeini envisioned. To label it simply an86 AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAH KHOMEINI
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