IRAN WAS ON U.S. SIDE AFTER 9/11

"... after 9/11, Iranian president Mohammad Khatami condemned the terrorist attack and reached out to the West to fight terrorism together... Khatami was a moderate reformer, a popular democratically elected president who had been struggling to limit the power of Iran's reactionary religious leaders, and to open up a dialogue between the West and the Muslim world..."

"But the Bush administration was determined to treat 9/11 as a battle in the "clash of civilizations" — a clash that Khatami was trying to steer the world away from. So, despite an outpouring of sympathy from Iranians over 9/11... Washington declared Iran part of the "axis of evil" and dragged the West into a "war on terror" that involved invading Muslim countries..."

"Meanwhile, the moderate Khatami has been replaced by Iran's new hard-line president as the "clash of civilizations" heats up."

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1157838637025