Shahanshah Aryamehr - Independence

"We appreciate friendship but are not affected in the slightest way by what is said about us by biased people. By the grace of God, with or without outsiders, we shall reap the benefit of our own effort. We will regain our past prestige."

It is quite natural that now when imperialism is leaving this region, those areas which historically belonged to us should come back to us. I can assure you that we intend to play a positive role in the stability of the region so that the liberty and independence of all countries is protected. We will certainly respect their rights. By the grace of God, we have a sufficiently large country and are not looking for more, but we intend to defend our historical rights."

"...Iran's military force will be one of the most powerful and effective powers in this region...our aim is to implement a policy that would safe-guard stability in this region and prevent any aggressive designs...anyone who has aggressive designs in this region should know what kind of force he would have to deal with."

Shah of Iran's post-Persepolis press conference, Tehran October 18, 1971.