If I ran Iran

The path of nuclear armament and hostility to all that is not Iran/Islamic fundamentalism is unlikely to bear great fruits in the future. Even nuclear arms will not provide Iran with any major success. Iran estimates 136 billion barrels of oil, but perhaps has only about 36 billion that is actually there and accessable. They could use their army to try to take other oil fields, such as those in southern Iraq or in Kuwait, but this would be strongly opposed both locally and internationally.

In the longer term, the people of Iran are its greatest asset. The Persian empire was producing great thinkers and a great culture when the west was a barbarian expanse. The Persian people and the arabs influenced by them have a strong tie to the legacy of science and the arts. A market for their abilities is the free market, the universities and research facilities of the west and east. They can go to much greater heights as part of the culture of man than as outsiders.

For example, Iran has developed biopharmaceuticals which it could market to the west.

The people of Iran (with the exception of the fundamentalists) want closer ties with the west, want to become part of the modern world, want the freedom to explore their humanity beyond the stifling restraint of religion backed by the guns of government.

If I ran Iran, I would create a more open society, would move away from the nuclear goals and towards an alliance with the west and east, becoming the centerpiece of intellectual development and industry in the Middle East. When the oil is gone, there would be prosperity and peace. A fitting tribute for Darius' and Xerxes' descendants.