8 ms·

Iranian here, one point I really want to mention is following despite our theocratic regime, really I have to mention, Iran is not Suadi Arabia or anything like

by 0xFFC 9y ago

Iranian here, one point I really want to mention is following despite our theocratic regime, really I have to mention, Iran is not Suadi Arabia or anything like that. Girls and Boys do get the almost exactly same education, they have great opportunity to be a successful scholar in any branch of science they want (yes, It is like USA, your parent demographic will decide which university you most like end up into. But this issue is the issue of most part of the world and we cannot blame Iran, USA or any specific country for this, we should blame the system). She got her bachelor degree from one of our top universities (Sharif University) and went to Harvard from there and there is plenty of science-eager students like her are there waiting for an opportunity to become next Maryam Mirzakhani. Come to Tehran. I know you hear a lot of bad thing about Tehran and Iran from Right wing political media outlets. But believe me, you are going to see Paris of the middle east and whole new generation of liberal people who believe in personal freedom and freedom of speech. It really bothered me when I saw her talking about how people of USA think about Iran as desert and all women wearing an abaya. No they are not, we are a new generation and we are different and although our regime tries its best to suppress us, we are the future of Iran.

carsongross 9y ago
More and more Americans understand that anti-Iranian sentiment here is mainly due to propaganda, not any rational considerations. Iran should be a natural ally of the US.
- acjohnson55 9y ago
  The Iranian hardliners do a lot to stoke that flame too. Much like us, they have a polarized society. Their support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and other problematic groups complicates things too. Add to that the fact that it would be tough to repair the rift with Iran, while managing our Saudi relationship. All that said, I think it's a worthy undertakings to normalize relations with Iran. And selfishly, I look forward to the day when I can freely visit Persia as an American.
  - curiousgal 9y ago
    Honest question, how does Iran's support for Hezbollah and Hamas directly affect Americans? I'd argue that Saudi Arabia's support for ISIS and Al-Qaeda had more/actual negative effects on Americans.
    - thebooktocome 9y ago
      They affect Israel. For better or for worse, Israel has a special relationship with the US. Obama had tried to moderate it over the past eight years, but...
      - davidf18 9y ago
        It was Israel that bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor. If it had not, Iraq would have had nuclear weapons making action against Iraq very difficult. It is Israel that tests US weapons systems in real world combat situations giving a tremendous amount of feedback to improve the weapons systems. The Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun": It was Israel that stole the MIG fighter jet that enabled our government to understand the operating characteristics so as to train US higher pilots to fight the MIGs. Israel serves as an "aircraft carrier" for the US where many, many weapons are stored. US troops train with Israelis. It is Israeli drone which protect NATO troops in Afghanistan including German troops. Israel is the 3rd largest exporter of weapons technology to India after US and Russia.
        hexomancer 9y ago
        Are these supposed to make Israel sound good? Because to me, it sounds like Israel is doing the dirty, inhumane works for the US.
        davidf18 9y ago
        Can you please be specific? What is inhumane about preventing Iraq from acquiring nuclear weapons? Or inhumane about saving the lives of American fighter pilots (eg. Top Gun), or Israeli drones protecting the lives of NATO troops, or helping Indians protect itself from attacks from Pakistan? For example, the Prime Minister visited Israel in July had Israel has a lot of support from the people of India.
- hammock 9y ago
  Iran was a natural ally until the US dropped the gold standard and now it's in the middle of a proxy war with Russia for control of the trade of its oil and gas resources. That has led to a pretty massive disintegration of culture and governance. Go ahead and compare photos of Tehran in the 70s vs today.
- alexanderdmitri 9y ago
  I hope you're right. I have met quite a few Iranians here in the States and it often leaves me feeling very sad that government & media rhetoric is so negative and narrow-sighted. Another example of how the macro reality we create can become massively misaligned with ground-level truths.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
vixen99 9y ago
This needs correction then? http://www.lonelyplanet.com/iran/women-travellers http://www.lonelyplanet.com/iran/women-travellers
cylinder 9y ago
Iranian-American here ... I think the days where Americans hold anti-Iran sentiments are long past. At least, amongst educated types. There's a lot of curiosity about Iranians and the culture. For example, I just went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas and was surprised to see an exhibit of contemporary Iranian art (i.e., modern art made by young artists recently living in Tehran, NYC, London, etc). The Iranian restaurants, even in Texas, are packed, and half the guests are non-Iranian, American born people. Probably going through the experience of becoming jaded about our own government helped. We (USA) are now one of those countries where people have to say "don't look at the government, the people are decent." So people here with an ounce of curiosity about the world understand the same as to Iran. And then you have more people who even understand the role the US played in destabilizing Iran which put it on trajectory to its current regime.
- davidf18 9y ago
  Iran supports terrorist organizations: both Hamas (considered by US, EU, and Israel as a terrorist organization) and Hezbollah (considered by US, Arab League, France, Canada, Israel, and the Gulf Cooperative Council as a terrorist organization. The military arm of Hezbollah is a terrorist org according to the entire EU). Iran is developing nuclear weapons that threaten not only Israel (where the govt. has said it will destroy Israel) but also Saudi Arabia, Gulf States, Egypt, Turkey which are Suni Muslim states -- Iran is Shia Muslim).
  - davidf18 9y ago
    Why down voting a true comment about Iran supporting terrorist organizations. If what I stated is not true, down vote and please correct me. I was a few miles from 9/11 when it happened. Please, never, never minimize terrorism nor state sponsorship of terrorist organizations.
    - thr31238893 9y ago
      That'd be like the Pilgrims calling the Native warriors 'terrorists' ... well 'barbarian'. I don't condone Hamas, nor do I care for Islam, but no one comes close to contemporary Israel when it comes to inhumane and brutal war-crimes. I mean to drop Phosphorous on armless people ? That should take some cruel heart. It's not just Israel, US used depleted Uranium in Iraq, and before that Napalm in Vietnam. The brutality and the mass silence towards such blatant war crimes is stunning.
thinkfurther 9y ago
How would you imagine an Iranian traffic jam? Picture it in your head. Now watch this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-RjSXqUpSM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-RjSXqUpSM
- Udik 9y ago
  > How would you imagine an Iranian traffic jam? Like this: https://vimeo.com/9827433 https://vimeo.com/9827433
dang 9y ago
I'm sure you meant well but you sparked a political flamewar with this generically off-topic comment. Now instead of talking about a fine mathematician people are going on about terrorism and how whichever side they identify against is the one to blame for wars.
- 0xFFC 9y ago
  I didn't wanted to started this flamewar. But i have to discuss this because my country is under attack from insane right wing mentality when in our country we have great opportunities and great universities. Even Mirzakhani addressed this issue. You can search about it. When she talks about how people in Western countries think about Iran as jungle which every men burns USA flags every day and chants "death to America", when it is not true at all.
  - dang 9y ago
    (Edit: the above comment has been edited to say "I didn't wanted to start this flamewar". Originally it said "I wanted to start this flamewar". Probably this was just a language misfire and that's fine, but since there were objections below I should make clear that my reply was posted prior to the edit, as you can see from the bit that I quoted.) > I wanted to started this flamewar. Because my country is under attack from insane I respect your country. Nevertheless this violates HN's rules and if you do it again we will ban you. The only place to keep Hacker News as a place for things that gratify intellectual curiosity is to keep it free of nationalistic indignation, however justified. It's always justified, and it's always off topic here.
    - 0xFFC 9y ago
      >I respect your country. Nevertheless this violates HN's rules and if you do it again we will ban you. Genuinely asking, which rules? Sorry i need to clarify what I meant by country. I don't respect flags and idea. So we can both agree i am not nationalist. I don't respect the idea of iran or USA or etc. I respect humanity. By country what I meant was the people. Out people (take for example students m) are under fierce attack of right wing mentality as terrorist when there is literally 0 terroric attack related to iran happen in USA in any last 20 years(50 years?). Yet i cannot visa and i am waiting for almost 1 year even considering i have full scholarship from UIC. But Suadi Arabia which literally where every terroristic attack rooted from in last 20 year is not in the ban list. So , genuinely asking. I am nationalist, or i am trying to present a logical question?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
rezashirazian 9y ago
I don't think this is the time or place to post something like this, but I feel compelled to respond to it now that you've brought it up. I agree that Iran is a much more liberal society and that its young population is eons ahead of the Saudis. I also understand that it's frustrating to see it bundled in the media with cultures and ideologies that's is not representative of the country. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. "Girls and Boys do get the almost exactly same education, they have great opportunity to be a successful scholar in any branch of science they want", "yes, It is like USA" or "Paris of the middle east" is completely untrue. Women are continuously harassed in university's for how they dress and many professors treat them with contempt. The notion that they get the same education or experience in college is simply not true. And even after they graduate most job postings for roles beyond secretaries literally say "Women need not to apply" Now I know Iran is much better than many other countries in the region and I know it's frustrating to see it represented unfairly in the media. But it's important to have a realistic perspective on the country and understand that it still has a LONG way to go. If what you're saying was true people like Maryam and thousands of other Sharif graduates wouldn't leave the country for European and American universities.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

by 0xFFC 9y ago

carsongross 9y ago

More and more Americans understand that anti-Iranian sentiment here is mainly due to propaganda, not any rational considerations. Iran should be a natural ally of the US.

acjohnson55 9y ago
The Iranian hardliners do a lot to stoke that flame too. Much like us, they have a polarized society. Their support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and other problematic groups complicates things too. Add to that the fact that it would be tough to repair the rift with Iran, while managing our Saudi relationship. All that said, I think it's a worthy undertakings to normalize relations with Iran. And selfishly, I look forward to the day when I can freely visit Persia as an American.
- curiousgal 9y ago
  Honest question, how does Iran's support for Hezbollah and Hamas directly affect Americans? I'd argue that Saudi Arabia's support for ISIS and Al-Qaeda had more/actual negative effects on Americans.
  - thebooktocome 9y ago
    They affect Israel. For better or for worse, Israel has a special relationship with the US. Obama had tried to moderate it over the past eight years, but...
    - davidf18 9y ago
      It was Israel that bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor. If it had not, Iraq would have had nuclear weapons making action against Iraq very difficult. It is Israel that tests US weapons systems in real world combat situations giving a tremendous amount of feedback to improve the weapons systems. The Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun": It was Israel that stole the MIG fighter jet that enabled our government to understand the operating characteristics so as to train US higher pilots to fight the MIGs. Israel serves as an "aircraft carrier" for the US where many, many weapons are stored. US troops train with Israelis. It is Israeli drone which protect NATO troops in Afghanistan including German troops. Israel is the 3rd largest exporter of weapons technology to India after US and Russia.
      - hexomancer 9y ago
        Are these supposed to make Israel sound good? Because to me, it sounds like Israel is doing the dirty, inhumane works for the US.
        davidf18 9y ago
        Can you please be specific? What is inhumane about preventing Iraq from acquiring nuclear weapons? Or inhumane about saving the lives of American fighter pilots (eg. Top Gun), or Israeli drones protecting the lives of NATO troops, or helping Indians protect itself from attacks from Pakistan? For example, the Prime Minister visited Israel in July had Israel has a lot of support from the people of India.
hammock 9y ago
Iran was a natural ally until the US dropped the gold standard and now it's in the middle of a proxy war with Russia for control of the trade of its oil and gas resources. That has led to a pretty massive disintegration of culture and governance. Go ahead and compare photos of Tehran in the 70s vs today.
alexanderdmitri 9y ago
I hope you're right. I have met quite a few Iranians here in the States and it often leaves me feeling very sad that government & media rhetoric is so negative and narrow-sighted. Another example of how the macro reality we create can become massively misaligned with ground-level truths.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

vixen99 9y ago

This needs correction then? http://www.lonelyplanet.com/iran/women-travellers http://www.lonelyplanet.com/iran/women-travellers

cylinder 9y ago

Iranian-American here ... I think the days where Americans hold anti-Iran sentiments are long past. At least, amongst educated types. There's a lot of curiosity about Iranians and the culture. For example, I just went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas and was surprised to see an exhibit of contemporary Iranian art (i.e., modern art made by young artists recently living in Tehran, NYC, London, etc). The Iranian restaurants, even in Texas, are packed, and half the guests are non-Iranian, American born people. Probably going through the experience of becoming jaded about our own government helped. We (USA) are now one of those countries where people have to say "don't look at the government, the people are decent." So people here with an ounce of curiosity about the world understand the same as to Iran. And then you have more people who even understand the role the US played in destabilizing Iran which put it on trajectory to its current regime.

davidf18 9y ago
Iran supports terrorist organizations: both Hamas (considered by US, EU, and Israel as a terrorist organization) and Hezbollah (considered by US, Arab League, France, Canada, Israel, and the Gulf Cooperative Council as a terrorist organization. The military arm of Hezbollah is a terrorist org according to the entire EU). Iran is developing nuclear weapons that threaten not only Israel (where the govt. has said it will destroy Israel) but also Saudi Arabia, Gulf States, Egypt, Turkey which are Suni Muslim states -- Iran is Shia Muslim).
- davidf18 9y ago
  Why down voting a true comment about Iran supporting terrorist organizations. If what I stated is not true, down vote and please correct me. I was a few miles from 9/11 when it happened. Please, never, never minimize terrorism nor state sponsorship of terrorist organizations.
  - thr31238893 9y ago
    That'd be like the Pilgrims calling the Native warriors 'terrorists' ... well 'barbarian'. I don't condone Hamas, nor do I care for Islam, but no one comes close to contemporary Israel when it comes to inhumane and brutal war-crimes. I mean to drop Phosphorous on armless people ? That should take some cruel heart. It's not just Israel, US used depleted Uranium in Iraq, and before that Napalm in Vietnam. The brutality and the mass silence towards such blatant war crimes is stunning.

thinkfurther 9y ago

How would you imagine an Iranian traffic jam? Picture it in your head. Now watch this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-RjSXqUpSM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-RjSXqUpSM

Udik 9y ago
> How would you imagine an Iranian traffic jam? Like this: https://vimeo.com/9827433 https://vimeo.com/9827433

dang 9y ago

I'm sure you meant well but you sparked a political flamewar with this generically off-topic comment. Now instead of talking about a fine mathematician people are going on about terrorism and how whichever side they identify against is the one to blame for wars.

0xFFC 9y ago
I didn't wanted to started this flamewar. But i have to discuss this because my country is under attack from insane right wing mentality when in our country we have great opportunities and great universities. Even Mirzakhani addressed this issue. You can search about it. When she talks about how people in Western countries think about Iran as jungle which every men burns USA flags every day and chants "death to America", when it is not true at all.
- dang 9y ago
  (Edit: the above comment has been edited to say "I didn't wanted to start this flamewar". Originally it said "I wanted to start this flamewar". Probably this was just a language misfire and that's fine, but since there were objections below I should make clear that my reply was posted prior to the edit, as you can see from the bit that I quoted.) > I wanted to started this flamewar. Because my country is under attack from insane I respect your country. Nevertheless this violates HN's rules and if you do it again we will ban you. The only place to keep Hacker News as a place for things that gratify intellectual curiosity is to keep it free of nationalistic indignation, however justified. It's always justified, and it's always off topic here.
  - 0xFFC 9y ago
    >I respect your country. Nevertheless this violates HN's rules and if you do it again we will ban you. Genuinely asking, which rules? Sorry i need to clarify what I meant by country. I don't respect flags and idea. So we can both agree i am not nationalist. I don't respect the idea of iran or USA or etc. I respect humanity. By country what I meant was the people. Out people (take for example students m) are under fierce attack of right wing mentality as terrorist when there is literally 0 terroric attack related to iran happen in USA in any last 20 years(50 years?). Yet i cannot visa and i am waiting for almost 1 year even considering i have full scholarship from UIC. But Suadi Arabia which literally where every terroristic attack rooted from in last 20 year is not in the ban list. So , genuinely asking. I am nationalist, or i am trying to present a logical question?

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

rezashirazian 9y ago

I don't think this is the time or place to post something like this, but I feel compelled to respond to it now that you've brought it up. I agree that Iran is a much more liberal society and that its young population is eons ahead of the Saudis. I also understand that it's frustrating to see it bundled in the media with cultures and ideologies that's is not representative of the country. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. "Girls and Boys do get the almost exactly same education, they have great opportunity to be a successful scholar in any branch of science they want", "yes, It is like USA" or "Paris of the middle east" is completely untrue. Women are continuously harassed in university's for how they dress and many professors treat them with contempt. The notion that they get the same education or experience in college is simply not true. And even after they graduate most job postings for roles beyond secretaries literally say "Women need not to apply" Now I know Iran is much better than many other countries in the region and I know it's frustrating to see it represented unfairly in the media. But it's important to have a realistic perspective on the country and understand that it still has a LONG way to go. If what you're saying was true people like Maryam and thousands of other Sharif graduates wouldn't leave the country for European and American universities.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]