I personally object to the veil on aesthetic as well as other grounds; but I must admit that, for instance in the suburbs of American cities, I have often seen women attired more sloppily than our Persian women normally are.

I did not share the enthusiasm of certain politicians for the National Front leader, it was because I had noticed, in the past, some strange contradictions between Mossadeq's declared ends and his actions. Officially he defended nationalist anti-colonialism and was the most intransigent patriot who declared that no concessions or advantages should be granted to foreign powers. He described his doctrine as a "negative balance" and in fact his greatest failing was that he was negative.

You approach the Mullahs as if they are normal people. They are not. You see them in your own image; you should not.

I want the standard of living in Iran in ten years' time to be exactly on a level with that in Europe today. In twenty years' time we shall be ahead of the United States.

As far as we are concerned, we are not the toys of any country, including the United States.

Today the name of America has a magic meaning for the most distant commmunities of the world.

My main mistake was to have made an ancient people advance by forced marches toward independence, health, culture, affluence, comfort.