I prefer to stay in my country. But this doesn't mean if someone does want to leave Iran, I think they've done something wrong - the desire to leave is completely understandable.

These days, more than any other time, we are worried about our personal life, our private life. When we talk about our private life, it means our home, our body even. It seems that when we want to have calmness in this world, we make a wall around us. This gives us a very calm environment, and when we feel that somebody is intruding into that, it makes us very angry and we feel we have to do something about it.

It's very difficult to talk about religion in Iran because religion has gotten so mixed up with politics.

At the time when talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics.

One of the biggest blessings in my life is that I have a very wonderful family, a lovely wife and two lovely daughters.

I gained a great deal from the period during which I worked in theater and I value those things a great deal.

The fact is I'm not making a film in order to draw pictures or make images about Iran.