Iran Quotes (636-372)

“بده ساقی می باقی که در جنت نخواهی یافت
کنار آب رکن‌آباد و گلگشت مصلا را”

“The Persians ruled for a thousand years and did not need us Arabs even for a day. We have been ruling them for one or two centuries and cannot do without them for an hour.”

“[The US will send an advanced anti-missile system — and US troops to operate it — to Israel] to help bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is the manifestation of true democracy in the region. The discourse of the Iranian nation is focused on respect for the rights of human beings and a quest for tranquility, peace, justice and development for all through monotheism.”

“Where are your valiant warriors and your priests? Where are your hunting parties and your feasts? Where is that warlike mien, and where are those? Great armies that destroyed our country's foes? . . . Count Iran as a ruin, as the lair of lions and leopards! Look now and despair!”

“The American people have the greatest respect and admiration for the Iranian people. Your Kings from Cyrus and Darius are known among those famous monarchs who have advanced the cause of humanity. Your scientists have contributed to the foundations on which we have built our industrial society. Your philosophers and poets have enriched the culture of the west.”

“One of the signs of Iran's underdevelopment is the culture of rumor and paranoia that attributes all ills to the manipulation of various demons and satans. And, of course, the long and rich history of British imperial intervention in Persia does provide some support for the notion. But you have no idea how deep is the primitive belief that it is the Anglo-Saxons—more than the CIA, more even than the Jews—who are the puppet masters of everything that happens in Iran.”

“Boy, let yon liquid ruby flow,
And bid thy pensive heart be glad,
Whate’er the frowning zealots say:
Tell them their Eden cannot show
A stream so clear as Rocnabad,
A bow’r so sweet as Moselláy.
• Hafez, from Shirazi Turk, as translated by Sir William Jones in A Grammar of the Persian Language (1771) and Poems, consisting chiefly of Translations from the Asiatick Languages (1772)”

“Foreign travellers in Iran, not only recently but in previous generations, have observed that some of our citizens habitually lie … In our culture, steeped in history as we are, some liars actually try to explain and justify their behaviour by referring back to past national catastrophes. For example, they will tell you, when Mongol hordes overran the country, lying was the price to pay for personal survival; and that gave us the habit of mendacity. Whatever its merits as an historical explanation, this point of view certainly offers a pitifully weak justification for today's liars.”

“I found that many Americans did not even know that a country named Iran existed, let alone what it was like. Even among the diplomatic corps and among well-educated people, there was a vagueness about who the Iranians were or what the culture was, a tendency to confuse Iran with Iraq or to mistakenly assume that Iran is an Arab country simply because it is an Islamic nation. This fuzziness about the world outside is unique to America; among the intelligensia of European countries, for example, there is generally a higher level of awareness and information regarding cultures other than their own.”

“The country’s air defense headquarters informs the honorable people of Iran that, despite previous warnings from the officials of the Islamic Republic to the criminal and illegal Israeli regime to refrain from any provocative actions, this illegitimate regime launched an attack early this morning on military sites in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam.
The unified air defense system successfully intercepted and countered this aggressive action, though limited damage was incurred at some points, which is currently under investigation”