(CNN)-- One thing did shock me on my visit to Iran last month: the immigration officer at Tehran Airport smiled as he stamped my passport. This rare travel incident set the tone for the rest of my trip. You wouldn't know it for all the diplomatic sound and fury that surround the country, but possibly the most exceptional thing about Iran compared ...

WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- Ahead of Friday's presidential election, most Iranians want their government to follow Sharia law,a study suggests. The Pew Research Center said a survey of Iranians found a vast majority, 83 percent, think the nation should follow the Islamic legal code yet only 37 percent think the government is actually following it ...