Iranians both inside and outside Iran have built what is arguably one of the most vibrant blogging cultures online today.

A sign of the Iranian love of blogs? Even Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has a blog.

So, given all the attention Iran had this week over its nuclear program, I thought it might be interesting to get a sample of what some English-language blogs written by Iranians are saying.

Please note: I am not an expert on the Iranian blogosphere. This is not an authoritative listing. Plus I can't read Farsi, the language in which most Iranian blogs are written. This is simply a sample of some of the blogs out there and what they are saying at this time.

What are we talking about? Not what you're talking about

It turns out that, while many non-Iranians are in a tizzy over Iran's nuclear program, for the most part that is not the focus of Iranian bloggers. Instead, they are still very much devoted to the aftermath of the disputed Iranian presidential election that took place in June.

Many blogs, including Revolutionary Road, Green Revolution Iran, Azarmehr and niacINsight are posting videos of recent election-related protests in Iran. You also see commentaries on Iran's internal politics on such sites as Kamangir and Madyariran.

It's not that there isn't any talk of the nuclear program on Iranian blogs. But often Iranian bloggers express frustration at what they see as the West's fixation on the nuclear issue. Some fear the United States and others would gladly sell out the Iranian democracy movement if it meant an end to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"Let's say, the Iranian regime decides that Iran is stopping all its nuclear activities and is going to be friend with the rest of the world," writes Human first, then a proud Iranian. "Then what? Then, I am sure most of the concerns and conflicts with the west will go away. Why? Because western leaders don't give a damn about Iranian people and their struggle with this regime."

Writes Mr. Behi: "Imagine Ahmadinejad relinquishing the nuclear program and shaking hand with the west. Imagine oil companies surging to Iran to restate exploration rights. Will any one of them would still ask 'Who killed Neda?'" (Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman killed during one of the early protests against the disputed election, has become a symbol of the Iranian protest movement).

Clearly a cynicism persists among at least some Iranians that the West has the best interests of their country at heart.

Daniel Kitts is a producer on The Agenda. You can follow him on Twitter.

Updated Timeline: Iranian History

The Agenda's Packaging Director, David Erwin, has compiled a timeline of Iran's history. It gives some general background on Iran's origins dating back to ancient Persia, and then provides text, still images and video on some of the key events between 1921 and today, from the coup that brought Reza Khan to power to the recent controversy over Iran's presidential election.

Content and images in this timeline are subject to copyright and are either duly licensed by TVO or used under fair dealing. As well, certain content and images are used under Creative Commons license. Duplication or replication elsewhere may constitute copyright infringement.

Sources:

Iran and the rise of Reza Shah: from Qajar collapse to Pahlavi rule, by Cyrus Ghani

Farsinet

HistoryWorld

About.com: Asian History

BBC

Channel 4 News

CNN

Reuters

MidEast Web

Google Timeline

Data sourcing and images: Wikipedia