Iranians support a policy of deterrence because their perception of Iran's security is colored by historical experiences. For Iranians, geopolitical realities together with national psychology define national security. This article attempts to explain the national psychology, and in doing so point to a path of US-Iranian policy convergence. The United States should avoid making the mistake Britain made in 1951, making an oil royalty issue a matter of national pride for Iranians. The current nuclear dispute could turn into an object of Iranian national pride, liberty, and independence. The question whether a nation without access to a nuclear fuel cycle could be anything other than a dependent consumer, has already been posed.

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When in college, a classmate of mine developed a severe rash. The school infirmary diagnosed a simple case of common roseola, a mild virus infection easily treatable. The classmate was to be released from the infirmary in a week, but the rash persisted into the second week. The physician in charge reconsidered his earlier conviction, calling for a battery of tests. It became clear by the third week that the patient had indeed been infected by the roseola virus and that the virus had been eliminated in the first week of treatment but that the medication had caused an allergic reaction. The cure had become the disease! Much of our dealings with Al Qaeda, with its confusion, doubts, and self-inflicted allergic reactions, resembles this episode.

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