“We have a legal system, and this is not something that happens all the time.”

We want to have good ties with the Iranians, but if they want good ties with us

It is important that Bashar leaves in the beginning, not at the end of the process.

Twenty million Russians are Muslims.

Iran began a policy of expanding its revolution, of interfering with the affairs of its neighbors

Like Russia, we have an interest in fighting radicalism and extremism.

Just like we respect your legal system, you [europeans] should respect our legal system.

The longer it takes, the worse it will get.

Show me one Iranian diplomat we killed! I can show you many Saudi diplomats who were killed by Iran.

we will be prepared to participate with special forces.

We have no interest in seeing an unstable Yemen or seeing a Yemen that is devastated.

That would be a different story. But I don’t think World War III is going to happen in Syria.

Why would we not want to fight an ideology whose objective is to kill us?

The war in Yemen is not a war that we wanted.

So we responded, as part of a coalition, at the request of the legitimate government of Yemen, and we stepped in to support them.

When monarchies were collapsing in a number of countries, we had radicals and we had Nasserism.

We can’t do both. If you want us to lead, don’t criticize us.

Sometimes as human beings, we’re so contradictory – we may say something or do something and completely contradict ourselves.

I think I’ve done well in all. It’s important to keep doing something different and reinvent oneself to avoid stagnation from creeping in.

By doing this I sense instantly when something isn’t right. Watching something does not mean fixing your gaze on it, but being aware of it in a natural way.

Just because something happens to be legal does not make it moral, ethical or right.

I’ve been able to work for so long because I think next time, I’ll make something good.

There is something that might be called cinematic beauty. It can only be expressed in a film, and it must be present for that film to be a moving work.

As you always discover when you make something, typically if your object isn’t frivolous, people’s relationship to it isn’t frivolous.

My films come from my need to say a particular thing at a particular time. The beginning of any film for me is this need to express something.