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"I think the Arabs are much braver than Iranians, especially in Syria."

"Iran is going through a period of fermentation now. Ideas and values are evolving rapidly, and the regime is rotting. We can see it all around us." 

"Most Iranians have not got to such a desperate point that they're
willing to risk their lives. But if things get to that point, our
government will, absolutely, kill even more people than those regimes (Quadaffi and Assad)."

"Nothing has hurt Islam more than 32 years of this government." 

... The freethinking that abounds among Iranian Muslims must be the Islamic Republic's best-kept secret... When I asked Ali how many of his friends who shouted Allahu akbar from the rooftops as part of post-election protests in 2009 were religious, he scoffed: "None."

Ironically, it is the regime itself, with its growing paranoia and narrowing appeal, that has forced the issue of its own legitimacy... it is extremely difficult to imagine the Islamic Republic drawing enthusiastic voters to another set of regime-vetted candidates in 2013... There has always existed the potential for totalitarianism within the framework of the Islamic Republic, but it has never been fully realized (until now).