Where Iran Goes From Here

As Ali Larijani signaled in his Channel 4 interview this week, there's been a positive outcome in the Iran-Britain standoff. See my take on what Iran was up to, and where things go from here on www.time.com. According to the Iranian news agency, the 15 British captives left Iran Thursday morning for home. As I write, they should be in the air aboard British Airways Flight 6634. They didn't depart before receiving presents from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and -I love this--the Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guards Corp, which arrested the sailors and Marines in the Gulf. I wonder if President Bush will give presents to the five Iranians detained by U.S. forces at the Iranian consulate in Erbil three months ago.

--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo