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MONKEY POINT, Nicaragua -- Last year, a delegation of Iranians and other foreigners arrived at this tiny, remote coastal village in speedboats. They came to map out plans to build a $350 million deep-water port and a new city.

The three-dozen families who live here weren't pleased to see them. For more than two hours, they say, they berated the Iranians for not consulting them first about the development, and they videotaped the clash. "We said we would defend our homes with guns, knives, machetes, whatever," says William Claire Duncan.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has described his oil-rich nation as a superpower with worldly ambitions. Since taking power in 2005 he has signed scores of trade agreements with African and Central and Latin American countries, opened a Venezuelan bank, and built factories and housing projects.