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I was born in Iran, left at a very young age - less than a year old - and grew up and was educated in the West.

In the beginning of college I wanted to be an English major, but then I became interested in international relations.

I would like go to Palestine and interview people there about what their lives are like; same thing in Iran.

Because of our youthful population, we suffer from unemployment in Iran. We need more universities and more job opportunities for the young.

I'm not an Iran expert.

Inside Iran, people are actually quite well-educated about America. There are things they don't understand, particularly in the government, but the people, by and large, know the American sensibility quite well, and the reverse is not true.

I have studied at the school of the world.

Girls' education is no silver bullet. Iran and Saudi Arabia have both educated girls but refused to empower them, so both remain mired in the past. But when a country educates and unleashes women, those educated women often become force multipliers for good.