Why did Iran call for the destruction of Israel, announce its agreement to talks with the US on Iraq, and add further controversy to the existing controversy of the Danish cartoons? Why did the country choose to embroil itself over the past few months in an endless list of contentious issues?
The intention was deliberate and well planned to distract international attention from the country's nuclear programme, according to the preliminary results from a majority of respondents in the ongoing YouGov/Gulf News poll.
Respondents were almost equally divided on defining Iran's objectives of developing its nuclear programme, where a total of 45 per cent of respondents said it was aimed at providing energy, while 46 per cent of those polled believed it was to create a nuclear bomb.
And if the latter is the end goal, half the respondents did not believe was Iran justified in obtaining nuclear weapons. The strong denial was for obvious reasons, seen more so among Western respondents as a staggering 68 per cent said Iran had no right to membership of the nuclear club.
But that did not prevent a majority of respondents (54 per cent) agreeing to Iran's right to develop its nuclear capability. But only with one condition that it is closely inspected and scrutinised.
So would an Iran with nuclear weapons capabilities affect the safety barometer of the Middle East? A majority (57 per cent) thought it would make the region less safe, while 26 per cent said it made no difference.
Interestingly, only a third of respondents believed Iran already has nuclear weapons while 36 per cent believed it is close to doing so.
