I have never agreed with President Bush's argument regarding the axis of evil. Unfortunately, fundamentalists in Iran have used this as an excuse to brand us as allies of Mr. Bush.

Democracy doesn't recognize east or west and democracy is simply people's will. Therefore, I do not acknowledge that there are various models of democracy; there is just democracy itself.

The history and our experience shows that Democrats and Republicans think the same way in some cases, and their ideas aren't very different when it comes to international relations.

The people are fed up with corruption and embezzlement. They object to censorship. The first thing that the people of Iran want is free elections.

The most important problem in Iran is that the courts have lost their independence, and they are under the influence of the Ministry of Intelligence and their people. This is why we witness a number of journalists and human rights activists, my colleagues, and a number of feminists, in prison.

Human rights is a universal standard. It is a component of every religion and every civilization.

The government of Iran claims that every two years there are elections. But none of them are free.