I hate writing long disclaimers before posting, but I know that every single word I write here is going to be weighed. The absence of disclaimers has brought me into unjustified defensive positions before, so it looks like I have to do it every time from now on. Here goes.
The following post is not my opinion. I am not the Iranian regime, nor am I the Iranian people. I am also not playing advocatus diaboli here. It is not my intend to defend the Iranian regime or the Iranian people here, so it is going to be pointless to argue with me as if I were. The following is what I understand to be the viewpoint of the Iranian regime and the Iranian people - I am going to carefully word it so there will not be any doubt to which is which. I am posting it because I believe I have a bit more insight to the topic than most others here.
Disclaimer #1 done, here comes disclaimer #2. In what I am going to post here, I will suggest that the Iranian regime and the Iranian people have a common viewpoint. This is going to sound like the Iranians support their regime- which they don't. Many Iranians died this summer alone to fight their regime. They want it gone more badly than any of you or anyone else in the world does... and that is a fact.
Let's get to the post now. I know that many have asked themselves why the hell Iran is so stubborn in this situation. Why is it so hard to negotiate with Iran, despite the fact that very generous offers have been made? Why do neither carrot nor stick seem to work? If Iran really only wants nuclear power, then why are they so dickish about it and insist on enriching their uranium in their own country and all that?
The reason is that Iran is tired of being treated like a second-class country. I have read Iranian media for several years now, and one term kept reappearing when talking about the international relations of Iran: independent nation. Iran demands the same rights as any other independent nation on this earth. They don't want their ships checked extra-strict. They don't see why any other country in this world, be it the US, Brazil, Japan, The Netherlands or whatever, can happily plaster their countries with nuclear plants and they can't. And, that too shouldn't be disregarded, they don't see why the US, UK, Russia, India or Pakistan can have nuclear weapons and they can't.
That is independent of Ahmadinejad's rhetoric of wiping out Israel. Let's put this straight: Most Iranians hate Ahmadinejad, and his words about Israel are both a tactic (a very poor one) of driving attention away from his miserable performance as a politician, and simple attention-whoring. One of the most predominant accusations against Ahmadinejad is that he deprived the Iranian nation of its dignity.
To most Iranians, the whole nuclear thing is not a big topic. They have different issues: Lack of freedom, poverty, unemployment and whatnot. The nuclear thing is simply non-existent in the average political Iranian's mind. But when you talk to them about it, and I really mean anti-Ahmadinejad Iranians, those who go out on the street and die fighting against him, you will still hear that they don't understand why they can't have nuclear power.
Iranians are very sensitive when it comes to such things. This is something that is very difficult to understand for most westerners. In the course of the 20th century, many Iranians fought and died against foreign - western - dominance in their country. They were upset about seeing their country sold out to Russians, British and Americans, without getting even the smallest piece of the pie themselves. For a long time, Iran was under disability, patronised at best, enslaved at worst. Iranian governments were deposed and installed by foreign powers. For a decade, Iranians struggled long and hard for a constitution like every other independent nation in the world had, and then it became worthless because the Russians didn't like it. Leaders who had an interest in Iran becoming a strong, modern, independent nation were simply deposed by British, Soviet and American agents.
This sort of thing doesn't sit well with a nation. The Iranians believe that they are only demanding something that every other nation has- independence and sovereignty. That is a thought to be found with every Iranian, regardless of their political affiliation. It is the idea that the western countries are sticking their nose into what is Iran's business. They hate that.
Now go ahead and flame me.