Attorney General Eric Holder announced in a news conference on Tuesday that U.S. officials foiled an Iranian-backed terrorist plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington. The plot, which allegedly involved a Mexican cartel and large sums of money, would have culminated in an assassination on U.S. soil — a clear violation of international law. But perhaps more tellingly, this plot reveals major rifts between two of the Middle East's largest nations and within Iran's highest levels of power.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Libya on Wednesday to meet with leaders of the National Transition Council, saying that the U.S. has "an enduring commitment to support the Libyan people as they chart their country's future." French President Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron also arrived on Thursday morning. Elsewhere in the region, diplomatic ties have broken down between Israel and its closest Arab allies, Turkey and Egypt, as the Palestinian Authority makes a bid for statehood before the United Nations.

A ripple of activism is spreading across the Middle East, following Egypt’s popular uprising that ended three decades of authoritarian rule. Iran’s opposition rallied in Tehran despite a government ban, and the Palestinian cabinet resigned Monday. What does this change mean for the United States' role in the Mideast? William Yong, reporter for The New York Times is in Tehran, where he's been watching the protests.

The United States is performing a difficult balancing act in how to respond to the tumult in Egypt. The Obama administration was quick to show support for protesters who are pushing for democratic reform in the Middle East, but hasn't forcefully called for the end to Mubarak's regime.

American and European diplomats are meeting in Geneva today in hopes of building a framework for future talks on tempering Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But yesterday, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced that it had produced yellowcake uranium from domestically-mined ore — a breakthrough that eliminates Iran's reliance on imports for their nuclear goals.

On Monday, Rwandans head to the polls to vote in presidential elections. Incumbent President Paul Kagame is expected to win by a landslide. Kagame is credited with bringing stability, development and economic prosperity to Rwanda following the 1994 genocide. While few expect violence on election day, Amnesty International says voters are casting their ballots in a climate of fear.

One year ago, Iran, in turmoil, appeared to be on the brink of a revolution. Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was declared the winner of Iran's much-contested presidential election. For days afterwards, protests raged. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians poured into the streets. They marched, despite a savage government crackdown. Dissidents, journalists and ordinary people were swept off the streets and imprisoned, but the protests went on. Cameras filmed the death throes of a young woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, shot in the streets of Tehran. She was called a martyr; her death fuelled even more protests. Twitter and Youtube became foreign correspondents, telling stories from the embattled nation after traditional media were shut down or shut out. But the protests petered out.

One year later, where is the revolutionary fervor?

Stephen Kinzer, author of "Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's Future," tells The Takeaway what he learned from a trip to Iran last month; this morning's headlines.

Today is the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution, and to mark that date, Iranians took to the streets in protest this morning. For a look at the challenges - both internal and external - that Iran is facing, we're joined by Stephen Kinzer, author of "All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror" and a forthcoming book"Reset: Itan, Turkey and America's future."

Earlier this summer, protests spilled onto the streets of Tehran in the days following Iran's June 12 presidential elections. At the time, some voices inside Iran's halls of power alleged that outside influence was to blame for the seemingly spontaneous uprisings. The Iranian intelligence chief claimed Western and "Zionist" forces were somehow behind it all. Crazy talk? The Takeaway talks with Stephen Kinzer, author of All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror who explains that Iran's history with the outside world has left them justifiably paranoid of foreign influence.