AN AMERICAN FINDS IRAN A PLEASANT SURPRISE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201420011-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 19, 2012
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: July 25, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/19 :
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;IA-RDP90-00965R000201420011-4
ARTICLEAP CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONIT0
OK PAG D 25 July 1985
An American finds Iran a pleasant surprise
SPEW Chhstlri s`f?"?' MonWr cial. This department, which replaced
the Tsran, kan Tourism after the Revolution, was set up to advise for-
Od3'RE going to Iran?" the flight attendant asked in eigners on proper Islamic behavior while in Iran. Provid-
disbelief. "Just being an American is a crime ing tourist information is a secondary role since few
Y there "
While the Pakistani tourists of any nationality have been admitted into Iran.
passengers on the Pakistan Intern- The woman at the ministry was astonished that I
tional Airlines flight to London changed into jeans, I care- didn't have anyone to meet me at the airport, and more-
My wrapped a veil around my head and shoulders as we over, that I didn't know a single Iranian. "You are all
descended to Tehran. alone? What are you going to do?" she asked.
The first thing I saw when we touched down was a large Courteously giving me a ride into downtown Tehran,
sign on the outside of the terminal. Angry red letters de. she commented, "Before the coming of Iwam Khomeini,
clared, in English, "Down with the USA." Then followed I didn't know anything about Islam, or politics, or the su-
an abbreviated version of the Iranian government's motto: perpowers." She pronounced the last word with distaste.
"Neither East nor West, Islamic Republic is best." "Wel- "The Shah kept all this information from us. All women
come to Iran" was nowhere to be found. knew to be interested in was fashion. But now my leader
Only a few passengers got off the plane and headed nor has made us aware."
customs- I worried that the passport checker might say, After exhortations to wear my hijab,
"I' or head covering,
m sorry, your visa was issued by mistake. Get back on properly low over my forehead, she drothe ne. ' But he stamped my passport with a bored air Revolutionary Square. I found myself in a crowd of me-ped me off at
ss if American tourists entered the country every day. dieval-looking forms enshrouded in black, interspersed
In fact, I was one of the few Americans who had been al- with men wearing Army jackets, jeans, and tennis shoes.
lowed into Iran since the revolution of 1979, when the Shah Fro1 there, taking the wrong taxi three times, I man- .
was ousted by a popular uprising and Ayatollah Ruhollah aged to get very lost in Tehran.
Khomeini established the Islamic Republic. Each time, pie would gather helpfully, but no one spoke knots of
ngl shy
Diplomats in the Swiss Embassy, which now handles Long discussions were held in Farsi and hands would
American interests in Iran, were shocked when I walked in
the point in various directions. Eventually, I found myself
door to get a new p sport during the latter Dart of my on a hum to Ma
- -Jr. .-.V ac"u 1 waa we u rs rtmencan they could remem
ber seeing in years.
"You are lucky to have been to different areas of the
country. Two years ago, foreigners couldn't travel one
hour out of Tehran," an embassy official told me. "But
didn't you read your State Department's warning against
Americans coming to Iran? I think we have a copy."
The advisory, published in February 1981, reads:
"Travel to Iran is extremely hazardous because of the
continuing anti-American atmosphere and the virulent
anti-American stance of the Iranian government.... The
possibility exists that American citizens traveling to Iran
could be detained without charge or taken hostage....
Under these circumstances, the Department of State
strongly urges United States citizens to avoid any travel
to Iran."
"So," the Swiss official advised, "please find a safer
place for your next vacation."
The Swiss were right in one regard: Not one Iranian I
met in almost three months of travel around the country
had seen an American since prerevolutionary days.
But they were wrong in another. Although I did meet
with some suspicion, most of the time I received wonder-
ful hospitality.
On the whole, strangers constantly went out of their
way to help me, whether to find an unfamiliar tourist site
or to locate a bakery for some of delicious Iranian bread
- long, piping hot slabs topped with sesame seeds.
Many people, from police officers to taxi drivers,
apologized for having forgotten their English. In the past
six years, they hadn't needed to speak a word of it as the
country turned away from contact with the West.
Rusty English was also a problem for the woman at
the airport office of the Ministry of Islamic Guidance,
where I was taken that first day by a helpful airport offi-
awn
For the next 11 weeks of travel, I rarely needed to stay,
in a hotel. Almost everywhere I went, families invited me
to their homes.
Great sensitivity was shown to my needs. Housewives
would inquire anxiously what I liked to eat, and would
send someone to the bazaar to get whatever wasn't in the
house. One grandmother gave me a beautiful, peach-
colord sweater she had knitted. "You can't go around
with only that thin little chador now that it's winter,
dear," she told me.
I had never encountered such thoughtfulness in any
other country, even in the traditionally hospitable Mid-
dle East. Even at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs an offi-
cial poured cup after cup of tea and apologized for not
having any fruit to offer me as I waited in his office. I had
also' never met with such curiosity.
Whereas anywhere else I would ply people with ques-
tions about local customs and culture, in Iran, I was the
one under interrogation. How in the world had I gotten to
Iran? How many brothers and sisters did I have? Why
was I wearing an Afghan nomad dress? Why did I only
drink peppermint tea and not eat meat? What had I stud-
ied in school? How did I like Iran?
Generally, people seemed only slightly cautious about
associating with an American, but occasionally some
fear showed through. A middle-aged woman clutching an
armload of books sat beside me on the bus in Isfahan.
"Where are you from?" she whispered. When I told
her, she said, "I thought so. I'm taking English classes
right now, and I wish I could talk to you sometime to
practice, but I'm afraid someone would find out. You
shouldn't tell people you're American, they'll kill you."
.~, ~LT?
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/19: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201420011-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/19: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201420011-4
In fact, I had already had a run-in with the govern-
ment and, obviously, was not killed.
While taking pictures of the mourning processions for
the Shiite Muslim occasion of Ashura - the commemo-
ration of the martyrdom of Hussein (the Shiites' third
imam or spiritual leader) - I had caught sight of some
turbaned Afghans. As I snapped a photo, I heard an ex-
cited voice, and a hand was placed in front of my lens.
Hussein, a young Revolutionary Guard who was ex-
plaining the religious intricacies of the occasion, accom-
panied me to the local police station.
Hussein dealt with the officials, then explained to me
what had happened: The men I was photographing were
Afghan resistance leaders and it was forbidden to take
their pictures.
The policeman had first said suspiciously, "She must
be an Afghan who came across our border illegally."
Hussein asked if the officer had ever seen any Afghans
with blond hair.
"Well, maybe she's a Russian spy," the policeman
suggested.
Hussein pointed to the plastic bag around my wrist
reading "Safeway, America's Favorite Food Store."
The officer's immediate reply: "Well, then, she's an
American spy."
Hussein sighed. "Would they really be so stupid as to
send an obvious American all the way here and have her
stand out there in front of everyone? No. They could give
a camera to any Iranian and no one would ever notice."
The policeman agreed that he had a point, and bade us
a polite goodbye.
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/19: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201420011-4