The axis

There would have been crowds in the streets of Tehran to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of their revolution without George Bush’s reference to the axis of evil. But the forces in Iran who wish to vilify the US have certainly been strengthened by his rhetoric.

There’s a wide rift of perception between most Europeans and the Bush administration on the nature of Iran. Attempts so far to engage Iran constructively may have been disappointing, but now the hand of the conservative clerics against the generally reformist government has been significantly strengthened.