...I know what "in comparison" means. I ignored it on purpose because of what kind of government you were speaking of. Saddam let women drive in Iraq, still a piece of shit.
Again, because I feel as a nation Iran is far less restrained politically than plenty of other nations, despite not being territorial. Their influence rising in the ME region is not only bad for the West, it's much worse for the Middle East. They have a legit shot at becoming the most powerful Shiite Muslim theocracy in the entire region depending on how current issues play out, more so if Iraq breaks down into smaller nation states.