…The document stated that the revolution would be grounded on two principles: that it be democratic and Islamic. …Khomeini in his own handwriting added a third principle to the declaration – independence.
That third principle, the primacy of independence, born of Iran's history of exploitation by colonial powers, helps to explain what may seem otherwise mysterious in the current dispute between Iran and the US: Iran's dogmatic insistence that it must have the right to enrich uranium...
Iran, of course, argues there is no mystery why it has enriched to these high levels of purity. It was part of a clearly signalled staged escalatory response to Donald Trump unilaterally pulling the US out of the JCPOA in 2018 – an act that that had deprived Iran of the sanctions relief it had negotiated. Moreover, Trump, by imposing secondary sanctions, made it impossible for Europe to trade with Iran, the second planned benefit of the JCPOA.
Iran's politics as a result for the past decade has been shaped by the sense that it was the wronged partner, and the US confirmed as inherently untrustworthy.
Centrist figures such as the former president Hassan Rouhani and the foreign minister Javad Zarif expended huge internal political capital to sign a deal with the west, and the west promptly reneged on it. Meanwhile, Israel, a country that is not a member of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty – unlike Iran – and which has a totally unmonitored and undeclared nuclear weapon, receives largesse and support from the west…
"To us, mastering the atomic fuel cycle and generating nuclear power is as much about diversifying our energy resources as it is about who Iranians are as a nation, our demand for dignity and respect and our consequent place in the world. Without comprehending the role of identity, many issues we all face will remain unresolved."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/23/why-iran-nuclear-programme-essential-to-its-identity
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