Recent moves by the United States to engage the new Iranian government headed by a moderate president has triggered a public debate in the Islamic republic over its national interests, forcing hard-line conservatives to defend Tehran's 34-year-old enmity with Washington.
The foreign policy team of President Hassan Rouhani has succeeded in presenting a new face of Iran to the outside world, one the United States and other longtime adversaries are eager to test.
Positive talks held in Geneva last week between world powers and Iran over its long-disputed nuclear program have raised hopes for a diplomatic solution, but hard-liners here are working to derail those efforts, resurfacing political divisions that persisted before Rouhani's surprising election victory in June.