Israel is trying to legitimize the settlements, and he [Celso Amorim] said, quote, "Dayan is the leader of a policy condemned by the United Nations, and as such, it would go against Brazil's interest and world peace to allow him to become ambassador here." And for the moment, it doesn't look like the Brazilians are going to be standing down on this issue.

Israel is a big provider of military technology to Brazil and this has caused a big breach in the two sides of the government. On the one hand, you have the diplomatic side. On the other side, Brazil's military has been quoted in the local press as being quite upset that this diplomatic standoff could affect the military relationship.

Iranians also see external reasons for caution. Analyst Foad Izadi at Tehran University says Iranians only need to look at the chaos plaguing the region to see how easily popular demands for change can get out of hand.

Iran has a young population, and the desire to get out from under conservative religious social restrictions and to be able to speak their mind without fear of arrest is palpable. But nearly seven years after authorities crushed massive street protests, reformers are still threatened with arrest and expectations for change are extremely low.

He is someone who is involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a fundamental way. Let's start with who Dani Dayan is. He was the former head of one of the main settler councils, the Yesha Council, which is a kind of umbrella organization for settlements in the occupied West Bank. Now, you know, for some countries this might not be an issue, but Brazil has made a point of its policies on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Sanaz Minaei [business woman] shows a visitor a cooking class at one of her several companies and says the opportunities for Iran are huge if only the country can rejoin the global economy as promised.

Rigorous teaching schedules combined with mounds of paperwork can lead to burnout.