Obama: ‘Part of the Psychology of Iran Is Rooted in’ ‘Sense that ...the U.S. Meddled’

"Clearly, part of the psychology of Iran is rooted in past experiences, the sense that their country was undermined, that the United States or the West meddled in first their democracy and then in supporting the Shah and then in supporting Iraq and Saddam during that extremely brutal war. 

So part of what I’ve told my team is we have to distinguish between the ideologically-driven, offensive Iran and the defensive Iran that feels vulnerable and sometimes may be reacting because they perceive that as the only way that they can avoid repeats of the past.”