Doubtful assertion in column about Iran

Pornpimol Kanchanalak’s columns are impressive for their extensive research and command of facts. And I agree that the world should show compassion to the victims of the Iranian earthquake.
But she blots her copybook just a tad when, in her latest column, she quotes an Iranian friend as saying, “Iranians, in their 7,000 years of existence, have never attacked any other countries”, and adds, “We know his [the Iranian friend’s] historical accounts are indubitable”.
Unfortunately, this particular historical account is doubtful. Wikipedia informs us that the Persian Empire was the world’s first superpower, ruling from the Balkans to North Africa and Central Asia.
You don’t get to rule that much territory outside your own borders without attacking somebody.
Ye Olde Curmudgeon
Bangkok