From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

The UN has cracked down and Iran has snapped back. Will sanctions have any effect?

I'm Sarah Terry sitting in for Warren Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

After months of deadlock, the United Nations has agreed to impose limited sanctions on Iran for its refusal to stop its uranium enrichment program.

In response, Iran's president insisted his nation is a nuclear country,

triggering concern among his Arab neighbors. What happens next? What impact will the sanctions have?

How do recent elections in Iran affect relations with the West? On reporter's notebook later on,

the assault on the middle class in America, and why one author says the

Democrats should pay attention. First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John

D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

I'm Sarah Terry, sitting in for Warren Olney, back with To the Point from PRI. We'll be talking

about what's changing in Iran and what's not. What impact will UN sanctions have on Iran

and its uranium enrichment program? The recent local election results in Iran indicate political change in the future?

How are Iran's Arab neighbors responding to the country's increasingly bold nuclear rhetoric?

On reporter's notebook, it's not easy being middle class these days. A new book looks at the

eroding security of the middle class and what it means in a changing political environment.

First, this update. In news from Iraq today, the U.S. military announced the death of six

more American soldiers there, bringing the military death toll to 2,97, four more than the number

killed in the 9-11 attacks. My guest is Michael Hasting, Baghdad correspondent for Newsweek magazine.

Michael Hastings, thanks for joining us.

...