51.   Iranian officials point out that police activity in other countries sometimes results in unexpected violence.

52.   Iranian officials say it has managed to retain extraordinary power and independence.

53.   Iranian officials, he added, have assured him that the case is not religiously motivated and that they do not wish to see an exodus of Jews.

54.   It is too bad that hard-line Iranian officials made it difficult for American networks to beam out much video of the jubilant soccer celebrations.

55.   Likewise, Iranians, incensed by a German court ruling that Iranian officials were part of a plot to murder Iranian dissidents in Munich, also burned Israeli flags.

56.   Maybe that was why I found virtually no personal animus toward the United States from any Iranian official I spoke with.

57.   Other Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, have already articulated that view.

58.   Others told me the United States should go to the United Nations and publicly identify, with evidence, any Iranian officials involved in terrorism.

59.   Privately, many senior Iranian officials acknowledge that the embassy takeover was a blunder, but saying so publicly is another matter.

60.   Privately, some Iranian officials have expressed concern that even if they proceed down the road with negotiations with the United States, they could end up empty-handed.