This article proposes a fresh explanation of Iran’s nuclear programme by using the framework of strategic culture. The core argument of this article is that Iran’s strategic restraint in not overtly weaponising its nuclear programme is primarily driven by its strategic culture despite the continuously deteriorating regional security situation and a deeply hostile neighbourhood. This has incentivised a ‘Shia way’ of looking at and practising a strategy that sees nuclear weapons as fundamentally un-Islamic. Instead of weaponisation, Iran has shown remarkable flexibility to accept restrictions on its nuclear programme under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Security-based realist explanations fail to account for such behaviour and can be better explained using a cultural framework. The strategic culture-based framework also explains the reasons behind Iran’s policy of nuclear hedging and its acceptability by major sections of the political elite in Iran.

本文运用战略文化的框架，对伊朗的核计划提出了新的解释。本文的核心论点是，尽管地区安全局势不断恶化，周边充满敌意，但伊朗在不公开将其核计划武器化方面的战略克制主要是由其战略文化驱动的。这激发了一种“什叶派方式”来看待和实践一种将核武器视为根本非伊斯兰的战略。伊朗没有进行武器化，而是表现出非凡的灵活性，可以根据《联合全面行动计划》（JCPOA）接受对其核计划的限制。基于安全的现实主义解释无法解释这种行为，并且可以使用文化框架更好地解释。