Iran's elite seems to be made up of 130 IQ omnimath chosen warriors who are born with antlers and the strange innate ability to sense the flow of magic currents. They use a rare and mystical mineral called iranium to construct "irantech"; machines that can alter time and gravity.
One advantage the Iranians have is that their entire elite seems to consist of 130 IQ polymath combat veterans with PhDs who stormed across minefields with fixed bayonets surrounded by poison gas back in the day and then spent 30 years studying philosophy, game theory, engineering and military science. Average decision-maker quality appears to be dramatically higher than elsewhere, especially qualified for shit-hits-the-fan situations