What is Iran Worth?

During his flight from Paris to Tehran on February 1, 1979, Khomeini — the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution — was asked by an international journalist: “Would you be so kind as to tell us how you feel about returning to Iran?” after fifteen years in exile. Khomeini’s response was a single, deliberate word in Farsi:

“هیچی — Hichi — Nothing!”

When the translator hesitantly offered, “He doesn’t make any comment,” the weight of that one word went largely unnoticed, yet within it lay the somber resolve of the emerging clerical regime, a power willing to sacrifice the entirety of Iran — its people, its land and its sky — in pursuit of its vision.

“از کیسه خلیفه می‌بخشد”

The above Iranian proverb “He gives from the Caliph’s purse” describes someone who is generous or extravagant with another’s property. This is precisely how those in power, from Khomeini onward, have viewed Iran’s wealth: as “Nothing!” more than a cash cow, for the sake of God!

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