Different Ways of Looking at Iran "Hugs From Iran," by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, June 14), presented a refreshing and much needed perspective on Iran and Iranians. The current government of Iran does not represent its people either politically or even culturally. The Iranian culture, as Mr. Kristof experienced, values hospitality, kindness and, yes, even tolerance. Iran is a collection of ethnic and religious groups, and the country has for thousands of years been a haven for minorities, including Jews. The current regime is not based on Iran's cultural or historical traditions. It does not represent the political philosophy of the country. If anything, it is an aberration that goes against all ideals of Persian leadership that can be found in the literature and mythology of the country going back thousands of years. Iran can be one of the West's best allies in the region. The writer is a professor of public administration at Arizona State University. In "Pinched and Griping in Iran" (column, June 17), about a recent trip to Iran, Nicholas D. Kristof applauds the very sanctions that are making life more difficult for the ordinary people he met. He is gravely mistaken in believing that intensifying sanctions is going to prompt economic collapse, leading to regime change. For over 30 years, journalists and pundits have been talking about an imminent counterrevolution to the Islamic Republic, but to no avail. If Mr. Kristof believes that widespread discontent with current conditions in Iran is an indicator that the ruling system is on the brink of its own demise, then one would have to then apply this to the American political system, in which the public has lost all faith amid a ruinous economy and bankrupt government. Yet nobody actually believes that this will happen. Also, it is fairly clear that those who approach foreign journalists, or consent to be interviewed by them, tend to be the more xenophilic and anti-government segment of society. Hence, Mr. Kristof's analysis of the pro-American sentiments of the Iranian people is likely to be merely anecdotal and thus heavily skewed. REZA ESFANDIARI Manchester, England, June 18, 2012 Unfortunately, Nicholas D. Kristof's column represents wishful thinking. Economic sanctions are ineffective against totalitarian regimes. Consider Fidel Castro's Cuba. Even though Cubans have lived with economic hardship in one of the most isolated countries in the world, one man kept millions of people in his iron grip for more than 50 years. The same is true of North Korea. The Iranian regime is even more cruel than these despotic countries. The Islamic despots had thousands of Iranians, including large numbers of children and teenagers, walk through minefields in "human waves" in order to clear the fields for the Iranian military during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. This regime, which has nothing to fear from its terrified population, will certainly have no qualms about subjecting its citizens to economic hardship. "Pinched and Griping in Iran" tells us that the sanctions against Iran are indeed working, and that a military strike against Iranian nuclear sites may well undo all the progress that has been made. These words and facts should be heeded by those right-leaning American politicians poorly informed about the complexities of the Mideast. CARL MATTIOLI Newtonville, Mass., June 17, 2012