The political fallout

WHEN, earlier this year, Iran's reform-minded president, Muhammad Khatami, wanted to let UN inspectors snoop more freely around his country's suspected nuclear sites, he was slapped down by the conservative clerical establishment. So it looked odd, at first glance, that it was a pillar of reaction, Hassan Rohani, who last week committed Iran to accept inspections at short notice by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, to submit a list of present and past nuclear activities, and to suspend Iran's programme of uranium enrichment.