Some of you are mistaking "Iran" for "Iranian hard-line religious leadership". The mainstream Iranian is persian and really feels no compelling need to martyr themselves for a bunch of lazy arab nutcases who would rather blow themselves up than get a job.
The Iranian government is held in check by a religious council that keeps power through a combination of popular religious rightousness and violent reprisals against dissent. Unlike other countries such as Turkey which is nearly the exact opposite of Iran (Turkey has a moderate government and a pissed off religious populace vs. Iran which has a hardline religous govt and a moderate populace), the Iranian people don't really seem all that interested in rocking the boat. They've had their wars and seem to prefer pepsi and blue jeans. We'll win a lot more battles in Iran with a soft hand than with a gloved fist.
That said, it is in our best interest to contain govt backed extremist influences streaming from Iran in the same way we resisted communist advances from the old soviet union. We don't have much to complain about regarding Iran itself (aside from nuke ambitions), but we do have an interest in their export of weapons and "volunteer martyrs" to surrounding countries.
Carrot and stick applies. We need to find an appropriate carrot, but it's hard to hide the fact that our stick is growing shorter and weaker with every budget cycle.
I'd personally recommend an Iraqi withdrawl and a silent agreement with Saudi Arabia and the Kurds to help contain the pending civil war and balance the Iranian and Syrian fueled "insurgency", followed by a strong show of force in support of an Israel-Lebanon cease-fire. But of course we won't see that...
