Many Westerners are not aware of Iran's rich intellectual and social history. American popular understanding of Iran begins with the revolution of 1979 and is then cemented by impressions of the events and people that followed from it. Thus, the Western popular view of Iran and its history is often skewed and distorted.
Many Westerners think Iran is an Arabic country like Saudi Arabia or Syria.
However, Iran is predominantly Persian and has its own language and culture replete with architecture, literature and art. Its history is only partially Islamic. Iranians are aware of their cultural and historical roots and invoke such history when appropriate. For example, Abdol Qajar, Iranian Consular of France during World War II, invoked Cyrus the Great when he used blank Iranian passports to save many French Jews from the Nazi concentration camps. In about 500 BCE, Cyrus the Great freed Jews held captive in Babylon.