Congressman Peter Welch says members of Congress who want to take military action to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon don't fully understand how the approach could unleash a major war in the Middle East.

Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressman Peter Welch have both been abroad recently studying the U.S. role in Cuba and Haiti, and in the Middle East.

Congressman Peter Welch acknowledges that having the U.S. or Israel take military action to undermine Iran's nuclear program is an option. But he says it has to be evaluated very carefully before it's put into place.

Saturday marks the beginning of the Persian New Year.  VPR's Steve Zind visits with one Iranian Vermonter who celebrates in a traditional way.