University of Puget Sound Politics and Government: Iran overview

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Iran overview

Some folks have asked about my trip, so a bit of an update and a few photos. I went to Iran because, well, I'm a political scientist and teach about Iran and thought it would be interesting to go. Foreign Policy Magazine says in this month's issue that travel to Iran is "next to impossible" because "visas are hard to come by, as Americans wishing to travel to the theocratic state must have a sponsoring Iranian travel company that first gets approval with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This hurdle makes independent travel essentially impossible, and the wait for a visa can take months." This is barely correct, and strikes me as a bit of fear mongering. Yes, Americans can't travel alone, as you need to work through an Iranian travel agency to go and have a guide. And yes, working with the Iranian interest section here in the US is not easy, since they neither answer their phones or their email. But it's not that hard to get a visa if you follow the instructions and don't have Israeli visa stamps in your passport (in my case, that meant getting a new passport). There are no restrictions on the US side, and no one batted an eye on my return. Not once was my baggage opened by either Iranian or US authorities in either direction, though TSA would have been welcome to share my cookies and pistachios I brought home.

I flew Air France to Paris and then on to Tehran, about 20 hours total travel time. Women needed to don headscarfs before leaving the plane, and it took me about two hours to exit the airport, as I was fingerprinted and generally left to cool my heels while paperwork was shuttled about.

I was in Iran for 10 days--Tehran, Yazd, Shiraz, Esfahan, with various other sites along the way. It was just me and my guide. I had access that I did not expect, such as being able to get into Friday Prayers at Tehran University, which is more of a national political rally broadcast each week, complete with the obligatory calls of "Death to America!" I had tea with an ayatollah and we spoke about the separation between faith and state (which he supported). I spoke with those who had fought in the war with Iraq, including my guide, who had trained in the US before the revolution. I visited Khomeini's grave, and saw the graves of the countless young who died in the war. I met many many people, all of whom were friendly and welcoming to me as an American, which I was always clear to identify. Lots of criticism of the current regime, no singing allowed in public, lots of young women pushing the envelope on what is acceptable to wear, but lots of religious conservatism as well. These few words don't capture it all, nor do these few pictures, but it gives you a taste. If you have any questions feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment.