Although the world powers have reached a nuclear deal with Iran, the thorniest dispute between Iran and the United States remains Iran's claim to its right to enrich uranium, which the United States insists does not exist for any country. In order for Western critics to appreciate why Iran insists it has the “absolute and inalienable right” to enrich uranium on its soil under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), perspective on what’s currently driving Iran’s foreign policy behavior is needed.

According to Ruhi Ramazani, professor emeritus of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia, the driving force is independence. In his recent book, Independence without Freedom, Ramazani — who is celebrated among US scholars as “the expert’s expert on Iran” and “the dean of Iranian foreign policy” — explores, in his words, “what seems to drive Iranian foreign-policy decisions by trying to place them in the deeper context of what I call Iran’s 'diplomatic culture,' defined as those values, norms, mores, institutions, modes of thinking and way of acting that have developed over centuries as a result of Iran’s diplomatic interaction with other nations, have survived change and continue to shape Iran’s foreign policymaking.”

According to Ramazani, the United States needs to consider the core expectations of Iranian negotiators. Of primary importance is Iran’s expectation that the United States will recognize the way in which Iran’s foreign policy is fundamentally driven by an undeniable commitment to independence — a reality rooted squarely in Iran’s national identity.

The Persian roots of this country have been impossible to sever, even after thousands of years during which Iran has seen invasion and foreign threats. As Ramazani explains, “The invasion of Iran by Alexander of Macedonia and other invasions by such foreign forces as Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Afghans and Iraqis did not deny that sense. Even the Arab invasion did not rob Iran of its Persian identity.” In contrast to nearby Egypt, instead of accepting the Arabization of its national community, Iran came to embrace Shiism, which is more in keeping with Zoroastrianism and thus better suited to the Iranian nationalism that was already in place.