WHY IRAN WILL FIGHT RATHER THAN COMPROMISE

"... Iran's economy is so damaged that it is impossible to tell how bad things are... overall unemployment at 30% and youth unemployment at 50%. Government subsidies sustain a very large portion of the population; 42% of the non-agricultural population is employed by the Iranian state... The present inflation rate of about 20%, driven by a 40% rate of monetary expansion, suggests that government resources are already exhausted... the country exports nothing but oil, carpets and dried fruit... and manufactures nothing the world will buy. Its most pressing problem, unemployment among the 60% of its population now under the age of 30... "

"What strategic consequences ensue from Iran's economic misery? Broadly speaking, the choices are two... (break down like Russia) under the pressure of America's military buildup... (or) gamble on... an imperial adventure... Ahmadinejad and his generation of Revolutionary Guards will fight, and cautious old men like Rafsanjani will not be able to stop them."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IE30Ak03.html