dstuva is absolutely correct in answering that iambic meter is widely used in English because it so closely matches the natural rhythm of that language. Just consider a sentence or two, spoken in a regular tone, such as:
I was walking down the street....
You'll notice that, with a small exception here and there, an English speaker will fall into an alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables (such as "WALKing DOWN the STREET"). Of course, there are different kinds of stresses (not all stresses are equal); even so, it's safe to see most spoken English rhythm as iambic.
At the same time, however, I don't agree with dstuva that pentameter somehow allows for more natural sounding verse than, say, tetrameter. The traditional ballad stanza uses iambic tetrameter and trimeter and -- far more than most sonnets, at least -- tends to very closely follow the patterns of spoken English.
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