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'In addition to the points you mentioned, the main ones are that of culture and history'

I want only to say that the thing that really made me so preoccupied with Iran was the observation that societies with so different cultural baggage developed similar way to deal with insane bureaucratic systems. Although ideologies behind those systems were different.

If you have first hand experience of Iran you would probably appreciate something I called 'sausage syndrome'. Few months ago or something like that Iranian government organized. I anti-izreali really. In western press it was doom and gloom a lot of people with banners shouting slogans. A reporter from my country wrote more or less the same, but it didn't escape him that the day was sunny, people arrived with families and there were sausages given away. If not for the anti-izraeli stuff it might be a description of labor day parade [obligatory show of support for ruling party, that took place once a year], sausages sold at very low price were a very prominent feature of this event. Maybe I wouldn't have noticed, if not for the commentaries below that article. The sausages during the rally were the hit of the day.

"The sausages during the rally were the hit of the day."

The French fromage (cheese) platter and IRI sausages (not the pork variety of course) must be two hits and an indestructible pair. :-)

Btw - here is an article which you may have some comments/thoughts about:

RUSSIA RETURNS AS A POWER: BUT WHAT WILL SHE DO?

http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/19672