TEHRAN -- The contradictions that make Iran so difficult for Westerners to understand are on view on arrival at Tehran airport.
Since we fingerprint Iranians when they enter America, anyone holding an American passport is escorted the length of Tehran airport to be fingerprinted. Each finger is individually pressed on an inkpad and pressed again on white paper, leaving stains. But the whole process is accompanied by smiles and apologies. The Iranian relationship with the U.S. may be problematic, but Iranians are happy to greet Americans face to face.
Comprehending Iranian contradictions has never been more important than now, when the U.S. and Iran are at sharp odds over Tehran's nuclear energy program, which many suspect is also a weapons program. The problem is compounded by the harsh rhetoric of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Iranian leader is often described in the West as an omnipotent strongman bent on regional domination; some U.S. commentators have described him as a new Hitler. This is a gross misrepresentation. A visit to Tehran shows the limits of Mr. Ahmadinejad's power. It also shows that ordinary Iranians are not yearning for nuclear weapons.
In Tehran, people have much more mundane concerns. The young want to maintain the freedoms won during the last several years. So far, the Iranian president has not clamped down on the loosening of women's dress codes. Young women wear short, tight coats instead of enveloping black robes, and their scarves slide back over exposed hair. Couples still hold hands in public.
(And by the way, the rampant rumor that Iran's parliament passed a law decreeing that religious minorities must wear special dress is unfounded. A draft law was passed, but it says absolutely nothing about a dress code for minorities. It calls for the government to encourage clothing that conforms with Iranian culture and to urge, not require, men and women to wear such clothes.)
With the arrest of the philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo, Mr. Ahmadinejad has started a campaign of intimidation against intellectuals with Western contacts. But he must continue to woo his own constituency - the poor and the devout - whom he promised a share of Iran's oil wealth. Those are the promises people care most about - not nukes.
