Learn English – Help to understand the quip “If there were only so much freedom of expression in Iran”

reading-comprehension

Ten minutes into his speech, he was heckled by a protester, who shouted about the Trump administration "kidnapping children." The protester continued to shout, but she was drowned out by audience members shouting her down, and chants of "USA! USA!"

The chaotic scene lasted for 30 seconds or so, with Pompeo eventually
quipping, "If there were only so much freedom of expression in
Iran," to cheers and applause.

I can't get the quip made by Pompeo in this context. If there were only so much freedom of expression in Iran seems to have nothing to do with this context.
Can somebody help me to understand it?

Here is the full source.

Best Answer

The protester is complaining about the lack of freedom in the USA. Pompeo points out that compared to some other countries (eg Iran) one would not be able to complain.

The use of "if only..." is used to express a wish or desire:

If only I had $10000... (I wish I had $10000 but I don't)

It is more common to keep "only" next to "if", but as is common with adverbs, they can be moved to different positions in the sentence without changeing the meaning.

If I only had $10000... (could be the same meaning, but possibly ambiguous)
If I had only $10000 ... (different meaning, this would be used as "If I had only $10000 I would not be able to buy that car". It doesn't express a desire)

He is saying:

If there were such freedom of expression in Iran, we wouldn't have a problem with Iran. This guy complains about the USA, but he doesn't realise how lucky he is to live in a country where he is allowed to complain.

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