The problem of assessing the international impact of theIranian revolution, whether in the fields of oil or geopoliticalstrategy, can be divided into two parts: first, the problem ofidentifying what the policies of the new govermnent are and thedegree to which it is capable of putting them into practice;secondly, the problem of identifying \vhat the unintended or atleast unofifcial consequences of the revolution have been, theshock waves and enthusiasms that such an event has generatedelsewhere, and the counter-measures that its opponents are taking.In neither case it is yet possible to draw up more than a verypreliminary balance-sheet.