Iran
 

No BE members seem to be living in Iran, so (presumably) there is no interest in the possibility that the nation might one day find itself run by the present Shah-in-Exile. His father had been installed by Western troops in 1941; and became the sole ruler after a coup-d'etat in 1953. My girlfriend and I hitched through Iran in 1964 - from the Turkish border down as far as Shiraz, then later (on a cattle boat, for a small fee) to Kuwait.

Our first hosts were a group of four Iranian university students who had been studying in Germany. They were scathing about the Shah then, and would have approved of his removal in 1979, although probably disapproving of the rule of religious leaders since then. The nation's religious leaders have not been particularly popular, but they're still there!

I am writing this post in the hope that BE has some members even slightly familiar with the nation. The only person I've ever met who has actually hitched there is a chap I went to school with in Australia. He and I happened to bump into each other in a shop in Esfahan. Small world, eh? He and his friend were headed east to Japan, we west to Egypt; but we (he and I) did meet up again in Brisbane thirty years later. And we're still in touch via WhatsApp.

Re: Iran
 

Well, I guess there aren't any Brits living in the country at all! Back when I passed through, the only Westerners we met were some US soldiers in uniform who claimed to be part of the US's Centcom contingent. We bumped into them in the street, and they invited us to visit their barracks for a meal! (It was near Xmas time, 1964.) Except for the pair we bumped into in Esfahan, the only Westerners we even heard about were a couple who (allegedly) got stoned in the city of Qum for photographing the very holy mosque there, the day after we were there. We got lucky.

Re: Iran
 

Don't quite see why you drew that conclusion - a very very small number of Brits living abroad anywhere use BE, especially these days.

Re: Iran
 

Yes, my mistake. I should have said "BE members".

Re: Iran
 

If there are they are very unlikely to have access to this forum !

Re: Iran
 

Yeh, well, maybe. But... My only visit to Iran was 60 years ago, when I found it to be quite sophisticated in the major cities - Tabriz, Tehran, Esfahan - even Abadan over in the western Arabic part. My girlfriend and I had hitched through Turkey and were picked up by a team of four Iranian university students who were studying in Germany, and coming home with four nearly-new Mercedes cars that they intended to sell when they got home. We travelled with them (actually driving one of the cars for the final day, after their fourth driver nearly drove it off a cliff!). One of the team took us to his parents' modern European-style flat in Tehran, and kindly let us stay in the flat's spare bedroom. And we shared their evening meal with the parents, too, and ate at their table. They all spoke fluent English. Okay, so this was 60 years ago... but it's reasonable to presume that their equivalents exist today. I wouldn't guarantee there are actual Brits living in that country of ninety million people, but I certainly wouldn't bet against it!

Re: Iran
 

I think the point was that Iran, with its incredibly strict internet censorship, isn't likely to allow this forum - not that there aren't any Brits there at all.

Re: Iran
 

I do take your point - that any Brits living in Iran might want to keep a low profile in these turbulent times. God alone knows where our 6600 readers come from! Nevertheless, I wonder if you would allow me to post the link below. It's a fascinating report on Britain's - and Russia's - military involvements in Iran in the 19th and 20th Centuries. (And a tidbit... the Victoria Cross awarded to one British Officer was the very first such medal to be awarded after the Crimean War.) Here's the link...