Aslan: Iran's nuclear announcement for domestic consumption

Ploughshares Fund board member Reza Aslan writes in the Daily Beast that as Iran prepares for massive pro-reform demonstrations this week to mark the anniversary of the Islamic Republic, "Ahmadinejad is trying everything in his power to change the subject.  The president announced on Sunday that Iran will begin enriching uranium from between 3.5 percent and 5 percent to 20 percent, a move that experts believe would put the country in a position to reach the 90 percent enrichment level required to weaponize its nuclear program."  Aslan says that more than anything else, these announcements were intended for domestic consumption. "Ahmadinejad is desperate to rally the country behind him using the one issue on which all Iranians, regardless of their politics or piety, agree. Ahmedinejad hopes to elicit a belligerent response from the West, allowing him to arouse the people’s national pride...As Iran approaches what could be the defining moment in an uprising that few thought would last this long or become this strong, perhaps Iran’s leaders should keep their gaze focused on the earth. It’s shifting beneath them."