Most foreign governments are wrong in assuming that they are dealing with a conventional state. For Iranian leaders, national interest does not mean anything, and accordingly the economic incentives would be ineffective. From their point of view, Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hamas in Palestine are much more important than the interests of the Sunnite or other minorities in Iran.

As quoted by Luc de Barochez, Reza Pahlavi : «Lançons une campagne de désobéissance civile», June 8, 2006.