Mary Fitzgerald, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, meets Iranian ambassador Ebrahim Rahimpour
Step through the stained-glass door of the granite building on Mount Merrion Avenue in Blackrock and you enter a transplanted version of the Islamic Republic of Iran. All the female staff - Iranian and non-Iranian - wear headscarves, the television is tuned to an Iranian news channel, and a framed portrait of a stern-looking Ayatollah Khameini dominates the ambassador's office.
Ambassador Ebrahim Rahimpour took up the Dublin posting two months ago, the latest in a career that has included stints in Islamabad, Delhi and Vienna.
Most recently, he was in charge of the Iranian foreign ministry's western Europe division, a role that involved leading his country's delegation in talks with EU officials.
He will not be drawn on the details of today's expected meeting between Iran's nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Officials in Tehran have said that while Iran will propose "new initiatives" at the talks, it will stand by its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
Coming on the heels of a recent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report that Rahimpour describes as "positive overall", and a subsequent meeting of EU foreign ministers that he believes was "neutral", the ambassador will only say that today's meeting has "special status".
Asked why, with its abundant oil and gas reserves, Iran needs nuclear energy, Rahimpour insists it is a question of economic necessity. "Oil and gas will vanish in the future and we need to prepare for that. Also, Iran is a developing country and the rate of growth is huge. We are consuming more than half of the oil we produce, and what we sell is not enough in terms of what we need for economic growth. We have to respond to the needs of our people."
The ambassador concedes that national pride also plays a not insignificant role. "It is our natural right to have access to atomic energy for peaceful purposes. This is not the period of colonialism where others can impose their will on us. It is natural that we want to progress and it is our right. The West is trying to find excuses to stop us."
What of suspicions that Iran's nuclear ambitions go beyond that?
"We are not intent on [developing a nuclear weapon]. We don't need nuclear weapons for our defence. It will not solve any problem for us. The power of our nation relies not on the weapons we possess but on our belief and culture.
"Even with their nuclear weapons, the Israelis have not managed to solve their problems with the Palestinians, and they have been fighting for more than 60 years. For these reasons, we believe that nuclear weapons are not an effective weapon of defence. The US used it against the Japanese and that is enough for the whole of mankind."
But much of the West's mistrust on the issue stems from the fact Iran hid its nuclear programme for almost two decades.
"In my opinion these concerns are artificial. Our programme and our efforts are based on peaceful principles. We could have closed all doors like North Korea, but instead we have opened doors and they [ the IAEA] are inspecting every single place they want."
But that is not true - the IAEA has said its knowledge of Iran's current atomic activity is "diminishing" since Tehran suspended the additional protocol that allowed for more thorough inspections. "We said from the beginning that if the case of Iran was referred to the security council, we would stop implementing the additional protocol because the nature of Iran's case is not political, but technical and legal. Once the file is back with the IAEA, we can implement the protocol again and Mr ElBaradei and his inspectors will have full access to every site."
The ambassador dismisses talk of a possible US or Israeli strike on Iran as "nothing but propaganda".
On wider regional issues, Rahimpour insists Iran supports the government in Baghdad because its interests lie in a stable and prosperous Iraq.
"Why would we try to disrupt this route to stability? Those who are trying to do that want a minority to rule Iraq like during Saddam's time. We are not the factors of instability in Iraq, it is the others and it is obvious who they are."
He rejects allegations that Iran is arming Shia militias in Iraq. "These are claims made by America. They could easily put Iran's name on these weapons to claim they were Iranian-made and smuggled into Iraq."
The embassy in Dublin has been the focus of several demonstrations in recent years, with protesters highlighting Iran's much-criticised record on human rights. Asked about concerns regarding the Iranian government's recent crackdown on political activists and academics, Rahimpour sidesteps the question to focus on western reporting of the issue.
"Some of these events you are informed of might be true, some might not. The arrests are reported in the western mass media but they never talk about the release. The question should be: 'What are the reasons for their arrests?' Similarly the closing of some newspapers is reported but there is no mention of the hundreds of newspapers and magazines that are allowed to publish."