Inside Iran

Hello,
I am a American that has left the United States to live in a more peaceful, relaxed country (no military!).
I recently came across your blog and enjoy it very much. I have a question for you, why do you stay in Iran considering 
that is seems like your life could be in danger (for blogging)?
–
Best regards,
****

Hi *****,
Many people are leaving Iran but just imagine what will happen if all of leave the country. There
should be some people to do the change. I'm not talking about heros, I'm talking about ordinary people
who should stay here, demand their rights and ask for the change. Irans Islamic regime saya “All Iranians
are with us and all Iranians are demanding nuclear research”. I have to stay in Iran so I will be able to say:
“No I'm an Iranian and I do not support you nor nuclear research.”
Yes. Staying here is difficult and dangerous but while I can tolerate the situation, I'll do my best to stay
here and say my word. 

I was just wondering what sort of thoughts go through your mind when living in such an environment? I would also like to know if you have ever visited other places in the world, such as Australia?
Um.. I've visited some countries while working as a volunteer educator. Among them Afghanistan, Kenya, Turkey, UAE and Netherlands. I've never been at Australia but have many friends there. One of my coworkers flew there a week ago. Your large country is one of the good targets for Iranian Immigrants.
Do you think your country will be at war in the near future? Or do you feel talks and negotiations will lead the way to peace. Do you envision peace to even be a possibility?
If war mean a vast attack of USs army to Iran's borders; my answer is NO. I'm not a political analyzer buy I feel that US is not going to invade Iran. On the other side, Iranian government / Mullas will loose their power and money if US invades us so they won't let this happen.
Peace is not in my vision because there will be torture, arrest and executions in Iran and I can not call this peace I think we will be something in middle: the way we are right now. The US and Iran will threat each other but there wont be a “win” for any of them: they profit by this situation. The US is selling warfare/fear and Iran's government is ruling and suppressing human rights.
It must be frightening to live in Tehran?
No At least not for an Iranian. For sure it is not enjoyable to live here (and because of this, my friend flew to your country a week ago) but we are not afraid of a near war as you feel it. When we watch CNN, BBC and Euronews, it is frightening! There will be a war soon, Iran will launch it's missiles soon, Israel is going to bomb Irans reactors and … but.. but we are LIVING in Iran, you wake up at 8, you go to your job bypassing moral police, you work for 8 hours and when returning back you do the shopping and invite a couple of friends to see a movie with each other and order pizza.. This life is not frightening. Maybe we are getting numb, may be it's getting normal to be in the headlines of the CNN and maybe we do not feel a big difference between a war and living under the pressure of Ahmadinejad. I don't know…
You know, yesterday Iran executed two bloggers / social activists… Am I against US war? For sure yes but at least US forces will not execute bloggers/social activists legally.

Hello Jadi,
1) I am a vegetarian by diet. How difficult it is for a vegetarian to get meals in restaurants?
2) Is it safe in Tehran to move in city alone ? Say at 9pm or 10pm at night? Of course, basic precautions are a must in any city.
3) Does the hotels and restaurants accept credit cards for payment ? Or one must pay by cash? Which currency? US dollars ?
4) Is it easy to convert currency in Tehran ?
5) What kind of checks one can expect at Tehran airport?
6) Do they check laptops for its contents etc ? My laptop may have some porn movies etc inside. Will this be a problem?

Hi Dear. These days I'm too busy and writing in English is difficult for me so I will give you short answers.
1) Most resturants serve Kebab and other Meat based foods but you will be able to order the food without meat. Say rice and yogurt. There are also vegetarian resturants in some major cities.
2) Yes it's safe. As you said, tourists should be more careful in all cities but Tehran will not have an extra danger
3) wow.. important point. most of the Hotels, Shops and Resturants will not accept international credit cards. You HAVE to bring cash with you. bring Euros or Dollars and change them here. You will be able to spend dollar in major hotels but the exchange rate is bad. Bring cash and change your money in exchange centers.
4) Yes but do not go to Banks for this Banks will need a lot of paper work and official investigations (your Passport and so). Just enter any exchange center and change your money easily. There are several 'shops' for this in the city. In Tehran you will find a lot of them on Ferdowsi square. They have fixed change rates and will give you recipes.
5) Do not bring alcohol / drugs and you will be safe It's like any other airport. There will be passport check and X ray for luggage
6) No they wont check the contents of your laptop. Even if they find porn, you won't be in trouble. The Human rights related content may put you in more trouble than porn. If a police tried to threaten you by these kind of things, he is looking for money/bribe Don't give your phone, laptop and even passport to a police. Ask them to take you to their boss.
Have a good time in Tehran. These days are HOT but you will survive as an indian Oh.. pardon me but I prefer not to meet people based on my blog in Iran. I hope you understand.
Jadi

The new parliament proposed a new law to expand the executions!

…
2.4. Establishment and operation of weblogs and websites promoting corruption, pornography, and atheism.
…

Article 3- The punishment for persons committing the above crimes, if not determined elsewhere, are to be as enemies of the state (Mohareb) and enemies of God on Earth (Mofsed fe-al-arz) [Punishable by death penalty under Islamic Penal Code]

Being an “enemy of the state (Mohareb) or being a “Enemy of the god on the earth” is equal to being executed. These terms used to be used for guerrillas and extreme crimes but the new proposal is suggesting to include the blogging, rape, wickedness and … as Moharebs!
I think the proposed law wont be accepted by the government but this shows the view of our new parliament. As you may know, these days the most of activists are condemned to “activity against the regime” and “propaganda against regime”. In my view “enemy of the god” and “enemy of the regime” is a same thing; nobody knows what it exactly is and the judge can condemned anybody to it. There is no exact definition of the word “enemy of the regime / god” so they can use as a weapon against any dissident.
See:
- Toughening Punishments for Disturbing the Mental Security of Society

I myself have not talked with any of them yet and there is no news regarding the release of them on any site but close friends (their and mine) are telling me on messengers that the people who were arrested last night, were freed last night 1:30 AM. Just wanted to update you

quoting from we-change.org

Change for Equality: June 12, 2008; Eight women’s rights activists were arrested today, on the anniversary of the national day of solidarity of Iranian women (22nd of Khordaad, June 12). Those arrested are: Aida Saadat, Nahid Mirhaj, Nafiseh Azad, Nasrin Sotoodeh, Jelve Javaheri, Jila Baniyagoub, Sarah Loghmani and Farideh Ghaeb. These women were arrested outside the Rahe Abrisham Gallery, where a seminar was scheduled to take place in honor of the anniversary of the day of solidarity of Iranian women.
When women’s rights activists arrived at the Seminar hall, they found the doors closed. Security officers were present in large numbers outside the Seminar Hall. The owner of the Gallery was forced to close the doors of his seminar hall, after being pressured by security forces.
Aida Saadat and Nahid Mirhaj had stayed behind to inform participants about the cancellation of the seminar. But they were arrested by security police. Following their arrest, Nasrin Sotoode and Jilla Baniyaghoub were arrested when they came to follow up on the situation arrest of their friends. According to those present at the scene, Nafiseh Azad, Sarah Loghmani, Jelve Javaheri and Farideh Ghaeb were arrested shortly afterwards.
According to a statement issued by the coordinating committee of the seminar, officials have systematically denied women’s rights activists permits to hold peaceful public demonstration and protests. Even small protests by women’s rights activists have been violently attacked by security forces and police. Additionally, women’s rights activists have been systematically denied the right to convene meetings and seminars and meetings in their private homes too have been broken up. It is unfortunate that security forces fear the convening of simple meetings with limited participants of about 100-150 to such a degree.
Please stay tuned for further news on these arrests, as well as information on potential other arrests.

Dear Jedi,
My name is ###### and I'm from the Philippines.
I came across your blog and I thought it was really interesting. I'll be traveling on my own, arriving in Tehran on June 3. I plan to go to Shiraz, Persepolis, Esfahan, (maybe Yazd) and Tabriz before making my way overland to Van in Turkey. Now, I don't want to get in trouble while in Iran but at the same time I don't want to restrict myself too much if it's unnecessary. I get conflicting information about what women are allowed to wear in Iran, the customs there etc. I guess shaking hands is out of the question. In any case, if you have time, can you tell give ma some tips what I should remember while in Iran? I guess I have to bring a headscarf from abroad instead of buying it there in the airport! I also read that people invite tourists to their house but I'm not sure if it's safe for a single 25 year old girl to accept that!
I'll really appreciate it!
Thanks,

Hi there ####,
In Iran you have to cover your head / hair with a scarf and wear a semi long shirt which may not be too tight. It is better to buy a scarf outside of Iran and have it when you are entering Iran.
Shaking hands is OK. Although it is illegal in Islam but the police wont arrest you because of that It is normal. Ah, Let me attach a photo of a normal Iranian girl in the street. This is not VERY different country. Just enter and see yourself The only strict limitations are:
- No Alcohol. You can find it at the cities but do not try to import it with you
- Wear a scarf and non-revealing cloths outside the houses. There is no need to cover all of your hairs, just a loose scarf.
The other tips are same as any other country. Do not carry a lot of money with you. Do not enter strangers houses unless you know what are you doing. Oh! The most important thing:
- You can not spend Visa card, master card or any other international credit card easily. Bring CASH!
Attached is a photo of 3 “just on the border” girls. I mean this is the most stylish girl you might see on a street. Go one step furture and you will have problem with the Moral Police and go two steps backward and you will be “safe” Jadi
Attached:

Read this interesting article article from washington post. It is about the new round of censorship in Iran.
Link

I've just got this via email

Bush, Chirac and Ahmadinejad die and arrive in hell.
The devil sees their faces and asks: 'why are you so depressed?'
Bush says 'I left USA so fast, I did not have time to kiss my family and say good bye, I wish I could call the States'. The devil gives him a phone, Bush calls home, talks with his family, gives a couple of instructions to Condie Rice… When he's finished, the devil asks for 2 million USD, Bush says: 'What? 2 million bucks? I only spoke for 10 minutes that's insane'. The devil answers 'but you are in hell man, that's some distance call!'
Chirac then tells the devil: if Bush could call the USA, I want to call France ! and so he did. when he is finished, devil asks for 3 million Euros. Chirac is shocked: 'what? 3 million Euros for 15 minutes talk?', 'well you call from hell…' answers the devil.
Finally Ahmadinejad asks for the telephone to call Iran , he starts to speak and speak and speak for 5 hours. When he is finished, he asks: 'how much do I pay?' Devil says '5 Touman'. 'Only five Touman for 5 hours?' protest Bush and Chirac.
'Well'… says the Devil, 'that's local call…

hehe not that far from the truth although USA is not that far from the hell too but these are two totally different hells.

Khadije Moghaddam was arrested yesterday. I'm copy/pasting the email I've got
Change for Equality: On the morning of April 8th, security police forcibly entered the home of Khadijeh Moghaddam, women's rights activist and member of the One Million Signatures Campaign and arrested her. Khadijeh Moghaddam who is a member of the Mother's Committee of the Campaign was transferred to Eshrat Abad Security Police, where she was interrogated for several hours, and then transferred to the Revolutionary Courts, where she was interrogated by the Mr. Sobhani the Investigative Judge in charge of her case and charged. A temporary arrest order was issued and a bail amount of 100 Million Tomans (roughly $110,000) was set as a condition for her release. Moghaddam was then transferred to Vozara Detention Center.
Khadijeh Moghaddam's friends and family members had an opportunity to visit with her while she awaited the processing of her arrest order. During this time, Khadijeh spoke of the poor treatment she received from the Security Police officers who had come to her home to arrest her. “They rang the bell to our apartment at 11:00 am. I was home alone and speaking on the phone with my sister. I was still wearing my pajamas. I looked through the peep hole and saw that there was a woman behind the door. I opened the door slightly. The woman announced that she was a police officer. I asked her for identification and a court order to enter my home. But instead of presenting identification, the woman and two men, pushed the door open and entered my home forcibly. They entered with such force that I was unable to resist. Apparently they had entered our building through the parking garage! My sister, who was still on the phone, had heard my exchange with the intruders, and she quickly came to our home. The Security Police treated me in a despicable manner and after 20 minutes of arguing with them and objecting to their treatment of me, they finally agreed to show me their court order. They told me that they had come to our house on 5 different occasions over the past month, but that I had not been home. They claimed this, despite the fact that I had been home for the past couple of months, because my husband has been ill and I have caring for him. I told them that until I have the chance to speak to the prosecutor I would not leave with them. I was yelling so that the neighbors could hear that they were taking me from my home by force. Finally they allowed me to make a call.”
In relation to the reason for her arrest, Khadijeh Moghaddam explained that: “they were objecting to the fact that I had hosted meetings in my home, to which I replied that I have the right to hold meetings and parties and weddings and memorial services in my home, my private residence…the investigative judge at the Revolutionary Courts asked that I identify 7 or 8 members of the Campaign who had participated in the gatherings in my home. I refused to do so, and explained that I do not believe providing such information to be ethical. I also explained that we are not engaged in any sort of covert activity and that the security officials know the identities of Campaign members.” Moghaddam explained further that the charges against her were: “spreading of propaganda against the state; disruption of public opinion; and actions against national security and that an order for bail amount of 100 Million Tomans was issued for my release (roughly $110,000). I explained that I am unable to provide such a heavy bail amount for my release, and the investigative judge told me that I will be transferred to prison for a week, after which I will provide the names of Campaign members and also the bail amount. When asked to provide my last defense, I explained that my way of life is my defense and also told the investigative judge that it is in fact the security authorities with their actions who are endangering national security.”