On the Road in Iran: it's a much more complex country than we see on the news.

• Author: Kristof, Nicholas D.
• Position: INTERNATIONAL - Essay

A critical challenge facing the United States and its allies is how to stop Iran's suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of the United Nations. The nuclear standoff is only the latest confrontation between Iran and the West. The U.S. has had tense relations with Iran for more than 30 years-ever since young Iranians seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for more than a year during the Iranian Revolution.

For most Americans today, Iran conjures up images of burning U.S. flags, devout Muslims in prayer, or Iran's hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling for Israel's "annihilation." Last summer, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof spent eight days in Iran, traveling 1,700 miles across the country to speak not with government officials but with ordinary Iranians. What he found may surprise you.

One of the most harmful misunderstandings in the West about Iranians is that they are dour religious fanatics.

About half of Iranians are under the age of 25, and Iran has done a solid job of raising their education levels. I was struck by how many of them share American values, seeking fun rather than fanaticism. They seem less interested in the mosques than in amusement parks (which are ubiquitous in Iran).

"Young people don't really go to the mosques," said a 23-year-old man in eastern Iran, cheerfully exaggerating.

This man had joined the 2009 protests that erupted after allegations of election fraud. * But then, he said, he was detained and beaten for several days, losing a tooth in the process. That soured him on political activism, and, like many others, he now just wants to go abroad.

Last summer, the Iranian government gave me a very rare journalist visa, along with permission to drive unescorted across the country on a government-approved route from Mashhad in the east to Tabriz in the west, and back to Tehran. I interviewed people at random along the way, and as far as I could tell, I was not followed.

Compared with my previous visit, in 2004, people seem more discontented--mainly because of economic difficulties brought on in part by Western economic sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Those sanctions are causing bitter pain, yet a surprising number of Iranians seem to largely blame their own leaders for the woes.

"We can't do business as we used to, and our quality of life is getting worse," said a man who lost his job as a salesman. "We blame our regime, not Western countries."

Authoritarian Government

It is very difficult to gauge public opinion in an authoritarian country, but it's clear that there are many government supporters, especially among farmers and less educated workers.

"Iranian people are happy with their leaders," Monad Omidvar, a 38-year-old farm laborer, told me as he played marbles with his friends beside the road near Mashhad. He has a ninth-grade education, and his only source of news is the government media.

Yet more common were those like the businessman in Adidas sandals and Ray-Ban sunglasses who scoffed, "The Iranian revolution was a mistake." Or the man at a roadside rest stop who sharply criticized America for bullying Iran, but added, "Our leaders have lost their marbles." Or the woman who has abandoned prayer and religious fasting, explaining, "The biggest factor that has turned people against Islam is this government."

At the grassroots level, Iran may actually be the most pro-American nation in the Middle East. All along my trip, I was showered with hospitality and gifts. "We...