Abbas Amanat

Only one-fifth of it.

by way of royalties, came to Iran.

Much of it went to the Anglo-Persian oil company, which they actually discovered the oil in the province, Khuzestan province in the southwest of Iran, where the major oil industry is today, right now.

And this was an extremely profitable enterprise for that company and for the British government.

It actually purchased by the British government.

Churchill purchased Anglo-Iranian oil company for the British government.

So it was not anymore a private company.

It was a British interest as a matter of fact.

And in the course of the 20th century, although it helped the modernization in Iran, but it also helped the creation

of a more authoritarian, more strong state, if you like to call it.

That 19th century Iran never had that kind of a power, never had that kind of resources.

Is it 20th century?

Even that one-fifth of the income that reached the Iranian state gave it a greater power.

Precisely.

And you know, you can name them from the beginning of the century with people like

I don't know, Lenin, Stalin, of course, Hitler.

Even Mao, of course, you can name them.

And probably, as I would say, the last of them is Khomeini in that century, that you would see this strong man with a sense of either artificial or real, or a sense of so-called charisma.

Mm-hmm.

and with this total power over the regime that they create.