--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In Iran, as in all developing countries…" description: "\"In Iran, as in all developing countries, they wanted to copy the outside world, without knowing what was good for our own country.\" — Farah Diba" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b2/farah-diba-29217_copies_in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-t_3033485.jpg" --- # In Iran, as in all developing countries, they wanted to… ![“In Iran, as in all developing countries, they wanted to copy the outside world, without knowing what was good for our own country.” quote by Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b2/farah-diba-29217_copies_in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-t_3033485.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b2/farah-diba-29217_copies_in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-t_3033485.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b2/farah-diba-29217_copies_in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-t_3033485.jpg) > “In Iran, as in all developing countries, they wanted to copy the outside world, without knowing what was good for our own country.” [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Iran tried to copy foreign models without considering domestic suitability. **In simple terms:** Iran copied abroad without local fit. Key Takeaway Adapt solutions locally. Themes development culture policy Mood reflective cautious Type strategic cultural When to use this quote - urban planning - education reform - technology adoption Key Concepts modernization national identity Questions to Reflect On - How can foreign ideas be tailored? - What local strengths should guide development? A Different Perspective Risk of cultural loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Developing countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developing-countries/) [Iran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iran/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Outside world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Of course, I didn't become an architect, but later on in Iran, I had a lot of contact and discussions with architects because Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/of-course-i-didn-t-become-an-architect-but-later-on-in-iran-i-had-a/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [The JCPOA is working - preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. It's time for the Republicans to start working, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-schakowsky/the-jcpoa-is-working-preventing-iran-from-developing-a-nuclear-weapon/) [Jan Schakowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-schakowsky/) > [I wanted to travel the world - I don't how that idea got in my head, but I really wanted to see the world...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cliff/i-wanted-to-travel-the-world-i-don-t-how-that-idea-got-in-my-head-but/) [Jimmy Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cliff/) > [A number of African countries came to us and said, we request that South Africa should not field a candidate, because so many other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/a-number-of-african-countries-came-to-us-and-said-we-request-that/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [The Iran deal was working. As a solution to the problem of Iran developing nuclear weapons, it was actually working quite well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sestak/the-iran-deal-was-working-as-a-solution-to-the-problem-of-iran/) [Joe Sestak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sestak/) > [As far as U.S. intelligence knows, Iran is developing nuclear capacities, but they don't know if they are trying to develop nuclear weapons or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/as-far-as-u-s-intelligence-knows-iran-is-developing-nuclear/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an abiding interest by the United States, by the American people, and by anybody with his eyes set in his head, to prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/there-s-an-abiding-interest-by-the-united-states-by-the-american/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) > [I think I am too interested in my own ideas to copy anyone else's, but I find that other people's imagery, the flow of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mahy/i-think-i-am-too-interested-in-my-own-ideas-to-copy-anyone-else-s-but/) [Margaret Mahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mahy/) > [There are many people inside Iran who say, "We don't have enough to eat. Why do we need a nuclear bomb?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/there-are-many-people-inside-iran-who-say-we-don-t-have-enough-to-eat/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [Some Iranian doctors from Europe and America go to Iran and operate for free or teach medical students there. The other day, I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/some-iranian-doctors-from-europe-and-america-go-to-iran-and-operate/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [A small child from a developing country has the advantage, from a very early age, of having access to toys which structure his mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdoulaye-wade/a-small-child-from-a-developing-country-has-the-advantage-from-a-very/) [Abdoulaye Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdoulaye-wade/) > [For some members of the radical Left, particularly in the West, people in developing countries are an ideological abstraction, on whom fantasies of liberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/for-some-members-of-the-radical-left-particularly-in-the-west-people/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [UN and rich countries must make financial support to the recipient poor and developing countries conditional that they must ensure 100 percent education, protection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irfan-aligi/un-and-rich-countries-must-make-financial-support-to-the-recipient/) Irfan Aligi > [Jobs in the public sector are increasingly dependent on technology, and more and more government services are available online in developed and developing countries.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tae-yoo/jobs-in-the-public-sector-are-increasingly-dependent-on-technology/) [Tae Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tae-yoo/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) ## More by Farah Diba > [Some Iranian doctors from Europe and America go to Iran and operate for free or teach medical students there. The other day, I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/some-iranian-doctors-from-europe-and-america-go-to-iran-and-operate/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [Fanaticism exists in every religion, whether Christian, Jewish, or Muslim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/fanaticism-exists-in-every-religion-whether-christian-jewish-or-muslim/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [There are many people inside Iran who say, "We don't have enough to eat. Why do we need a nuclear bomb?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/there-are-many-people-inside-iran-who-say-we-don-t-have-enough-to-eat/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [Iranian women are very courageous and active, even with all the oppression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/iranian-women-are-very-courageous-and-active-even-with-all-the/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [I hope in the end there will be a solution for the world, because we have advanced in so many ways, and still the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/i-hope-in-the-end-there-will-be-a-solution-for-the-world-because-we/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [It's normal that countries work for their own benefit, political and economic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/it-s-normal-that-countries-work-for-their-own-benefit-political-and/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [I wanted to preserve the old buildings, not to destroy them and build something new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/i-wanted-to-preserve-the-old-buildings-not-to-destroy-them-and-build/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [I was never interested in money. I always looked down on it. But now that I have less money, I see that without money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/i-was-never-interested-in-money-i-always-looked-down-on-it-but-now/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [You cannot expect a foreign country to be more Catholic than the pope for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/you-cannot-expect-a-foreign-country-to-be-more-catholic-than-the-pope/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [I hope that things will change, because it's a pity that a country like Iran is not where it should be, or where it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/i-hope-that-things-will-change-because-it-s-a-pity-that-a-country/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [You have to judge everybody on balance, all the positives and all the negatives. In the life of my husband, I think the positives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/you-have-to-judge-everybody-on-balance-all-the-positives-and-all-the/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [I remember I went to an exhibition somewhere and one of the artists, an Iranian lady, said, "I wish we had somewhere that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/i-remember-i-went-to-an-exhibition-somewhere-and-one-of-the-artists/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [There are many Iranians working at NASA. One of the engineers involved with the spaceship that went to Mars is an Iranian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/there-are-many-iranians-working-at-nasa-one-of-the-engineers-involved/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [Of course, I didn't become an architect, but later on in Iran, I had a lot of contact and discussions with architects because Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/of-course-i-didn-t-become-an-architect-but-later-on-in-iran-i-had-a/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [I believe in freedom for women to have equal rights - the right to work, the right to hold high positions, the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/i-believe-in-freedom-for-women-to-have-equal-rights-the-right-to-work/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) [Explore all 18 Farah Diba quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) ## More Copies quotes > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My songs are like cheap Neil Young copies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-bachman/my-songs-are-like-cheap-neil-young-copies/) [Randy Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-bachman/) > [In that part of the book of my memory before the which is little that can be read, there is a rubric, saying, Incipit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/in-that-part-of-the-book-of-my-memory-before-the-which-is-little-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [The idea is not to copy nature, but to give a feeling of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-oudolf/the-idea-is-not-to-copy-nature-but-to-give-a-feeling-of-nature/) Piet Oudolf > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Mr Witwould: "Pray, madam, do you pin up your hair with all your letters? I find I must keep copies." Mrs Millamant: "Only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/mr-witwould-pray-madam-do-you-pin-up-your-hair-with-all-your-letters/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [There have to be at least two copies of a photograph, otherwise it’s not a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ruff/there-have-to-be-at-least-two-copies-of-a-photograph-otherwise-it-s/) [Thomas Ruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ruff/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) > [It was only after I had been out of the art school that I actually copied a small Seurat, and I copied it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/it-was-only-after-i-had-been-out-of-the-art-school-that-i-actually/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [We call ourselves creators and we just copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/we-call-ourselves-creators-and-we-just-copy/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [People have one of two extreme reactions to my book. They either throw it across the room, or they rush out and buy 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/people-have-one-of-two-extreme-reactions-to-my-book-they-either-throw/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [A presentation copy...is a copy of a book whoch does not sell, sent you by the author, with his foolish autograph at the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/a-presentation-copy-is-a-copy-of-a-book-whoch-does-not-sell-sent-you/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [We are all born originals, why is it so many of us die copies?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/we-are-all-born-originals-why-is-it-so-many-of-us-die-copies/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) Browse all 971 Copies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In Iran, as in all developing countries, they wanted to copy the outside world, without knowing what was good for our own country.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Farah Diba" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-they-wanted-to-copy-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Copies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-they-wanted-to-copy-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b2/farah-diba-29217_copies_in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-t_3033485.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b2/farah-diba-29217_copies_in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-t_3033485.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b2/farah-diba-29217_copies_in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-t_3033485.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In Iran, as in all developing countries, they wanted to copy the outside world, without knowing what was…” — Farah Diba", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Farah Diba", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In Iran, as in all developing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-they-wanted-to-copy-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/in-iran-as-in-all-developing-countries-they-wanted-to-copy-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```