"An adviser of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there was a plot to assassinate the Iranian president during a U.N. food crisis summit in Italy earlier this month, an Iranian daily reported on Tuesday. " - newsjunk.com

Why is Iran so important to the US? Anyone know? - Prolific Programmer

Two reasons: (1) They're a threat for Israel, which is the only stable democracy in the Middle East. (2) Because they try to become the dominant power in the Middle East - something that would be a danger to the US' oil supply from the Middle East. (As long none of the regimes there is a lot stronger than the others, they can't overthrow themselfes. Or else: "Divide et impera" is only possible if the US are the strongest military power.) - sebmos

Also because they are getting closer to being a nuclear power... - Craig Thomler

Israel and the Israel lobby (especially AIPAC) have been pushing hard to expand the Iraq War to Iran, a policy which is opposed by every other nation in the world, by a majority of the American people, and by the American military and intel establishments. So the interesting question is: how did a "stable democracy" get so out of sync with all the other stable democracies in the world? A preemptive war against Iran would be a disaster for America. - Sean McBride