Reza Kahlili: There is animosity between Persians and Arabs. I mean, I don't think there is anything wrong with Arabs, I don't want to sound like a racist, we're all humans, but Iranians feel animosity toward Arabs, even more now since the revolution.
MJT: Why more now? Because of the Iran-Iraq war or because of Khomeini's Arabization policies?
Reza Kahlili: Because of the religion. Iranians believe that what the mullahs have brought to Iran is the religion of Arabs. A lot of Iranian officials, many of them, lived in Iraq and Syria for so many years that they speak Arabic better than they speak Persian.
And on top of that, the clerics have continuously attacked our Persian heritage. Every custom that Iranians have is being replaced with an Arab one. This is something Iranians really resent.