A gesture of goodwill by the US turned sour this week when the hand of friendship offered to Iran was seen as oppressive rather than bridge-building. The US, while agreeing in principle to play Iran in a friendly soccer match, said they would do it only if the players agreed that US Officials could fingerprint the entire team - yes, just like criminals. Not surprisingly Tehran has denounced it as offensive.

The match would mark the first time the US have hosted Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Tehran has often protested to Washington over the photographing and fingerprinting of Iranian sportsmen and scholars travelling to the US. US officials say the procedure is standard for nationals of Iran, Sudan and other countries accused by Washington of links to terrorism (although not Northern Ireland or Israel), charges which Iran denies. The game, on January 16th at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, would be a rematch of the 1998 World Cup encounter in France, in which Iran triumphed 2-1.