[McGavin999]

The other part of that would be that maybe the US government would pick up the costs because of the benefit they would be getting in Iraq.

[nuconvert]

AP's take on the story :

Rioters, Police Clash in Iran; 8 Die
Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran - Rioters clashed with police in a central Iranian city in violence Sunday that killed eight people and wounded 150, sparked by a plan to redraw the municipal border, Iranian state media reported.

The rioting began Saturday night in the city of Semirom, when angry residents took to the streets, state-run radio and television reported. Windows of the city's municipal offices and adjoining buildings were smashed.

Clashes went on through the night and morning, but the city was quiet by Sunday afternoon. The government announced Sunday that the redistricting plan was rescinded.

An undisclosed number of people were arrested for allegedly inciting the riots, the radio said. Two of those killed were police officers.

The violence was sparked by the plan to rework the boundaries of the city, 330 miles south of the capital, Tehran. The people who took to the streets were apparently alarmed that if their districts were transferred from Semirom to the jurisdiction of the neighboring city of Shahreza, they would suffer economically. Semirom is a larger and wealthier city than Shahreza.

On Sunday, an official of the Interior Ministry in Isfahan went on state television to say that the redrawing had been called off and that the more than 20 districts concerned would remain part of Semirom.