It's pretty well kown that Khomani pretty much destroyed any semblance of hope for a good life in the region, not that the Shaw had been particularly benevolent. It's fairly common that many Iranian people think highly of the U.S. & want to establish friendly relations, but then there is the theocratic regime. It's past the time when we could effectively take out the current establishment. Iraq was a smaller threat than Iran, & it might have been strategically advantageous to go there 1st instead of Baghdad, but done is done.
I suspect that the handling of Iran will be similar to N. Korea - talks, talks, & more talks, followed by treaties, etc., etc., as I don't think the U.S. has a stomach for anything else & Isreal can only do so much alone. Containment is no longer an option in the Middle East. We're going to have to deal w/ them. Religious fanatacism is ripe for stupidity violations where nuclear power is concenred, but I tend to view nonproliferation treaties as I do gun control: sounds "nice" on paper, yet in reality, it's doomed to disappoint & confound its proponents w/ failure.