[inglor_cz]

The closest semi-Westernized country to Iran in the same region is Turkey:

* Highly educated population.

* Remnant of an ancient non-Arab Islamic empire.

* Almost precisely the same population count.

And people don't starve in Turkey. Why would they starve in a Western-aligned Iran? The main problem in the richer half of the world is already obesity.

[croes]

Client state doesn't mean westernized.

Just pick a random African country where the West helps.

[inglor_cz]

Iran is an ancient and developed civilization, though. One of the oldest in the world. There is no reason why it should develop into the next South Sudan.

And some African countries are, in fact, developing as well. I don't think that an average Kenyan starves either.