Destination: Iran

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Dangers & Annoyances

Security

‘Iran? Is it safe?’ It’s a question you’ll almost certainly be asked before you come to Iran, and often. But the perception of Iran as an unpredictable, dangerous destination couldn’t be further from the truth. Violent crime against foreigners is almost unheard of, and the idea that as a Westerner you won’t be welcome is plain wrong. If you do your best to fit in with local customs, you are unlikely to be treated with anything but courtesy and friendliness – that applies to Americans, too.

Of course, like anywhere crime does still exist, so it pays to take the usual precautions. When travelling long distances by public transport, especially on international services, keep your passport, money and camera with you at all times. The occasional pickpocket operates in some crowded bazaars.

Theft from a hotel room is very unlikely, since the staff keep careful watch over visitors and residents. Nonresidents often have to leave their identity cards at reception if they want to go upstairs; in most places they’re barred from any part of the hotel except the ground floor and restaurant. Hotels are locked or guarded at night. Most places also have a safe for guests’ valuables. If you’re driving, try to avoid parking on the street overnight in Zahedan or anywhere near the Afghani, Pakistani and Iraqi borders.

The most valuable possession Westerners usually bring to Iran – and the hardest to replace – is a foreign passport. Largely because of the difficulty Iranians face in travelling to Western countries, there is a booming black market in forged and stolen foreign passports. When you’re carrying it, keep your passport strapped to your body.

In 1999 and again in 2003 tourists were kidnapped in the far southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchestan. In 2003 the victims were three cyclists riding from Bam to Zahedan. The kidnapping is believed to have been in response to government successes in their war with drug smugglers who operate in the area. A reward of about euro five million was demanded – similar to the value of drugs seized in a raid just prior to the kidnapping – but the three were released unharmed after being held for three weeks.

Western embassies advise their nationals to register with them on arrival, especially if you will be in Iran for 10 or more days, or plan to visit remote places.

You’ve been warned

For the latest travel warnings and advice you can log onto the following websites, but remember that they are usually very conservative:

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
German Federal Foreign Office
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
US Department of State/Bureau of Consular Affairs

Police & Security Forces

It is unlikely you’ll have any problem with the Iranian police. The majority of those you’ll see will be busy in a seemingly fruitless effort to improve the traffic flow, and they really have no interest in hassling foreigners. In popular tourist destinations such as Esfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad you’ll find Tourist Police in conveniently located booths. One of them should be able to speak English, or at least find someone who does.

Thankfully, the dreaded Komiteh (Komiteh-ye Enqelab-e Eslami; the Islamic Revolutionary Committee, or ‘religious police’), who used to bail up tourists for less than rigorous adherence to Islamic dress codes, is no more. However, the Basij and Sepah religious militias do sometimes get a bit carried away.

Security Checks

Although soldiers and policemen roam the streets and patrol the highways checking on the movements of pedestrians and road users, they rarely trouble foreigners. You can expect the usual inspections at all airports and in some public places, such as at the shrines of Imam Reza in Mashhad and Imam Khomeini in Tehran. Foreigners are expected to carry their passports with them at all times, although this can be tricky when hotels also like to hang onto them throughout your stay. In fact, you may be best off leaving your passport at the hotel so that if you’re stopped by bogus police – indeed, any police – you can say you haven’t got it with you.

In the eastern provinces your transport is likely to be stopped more frequently by police searching for drugs and other smuggled goods.

Political Crises

Iran is no stranger to political crises. Regardless of your nationality, it’s wise to stay clear of all political gatherings – don’t take photos and keep a low profile. It’s a good idea to carry a short-wave radio so you can keep in touch with what’s happening in Iran and elsewhere in the region.

Scams

Bogus Police

Despite a concerted effort by police to crack down on such scams, we still receive a disturbing number of letters from readers who have encountered bogus police. The usual motive is theft of passports, cameras, money or whatever else you’re carrying that takes their fancy. In 2003, reports of such activity mainly emanated from Tehran, though it could happen anywhere. The best advice it to ignore the ‘policemen’ and they’ll probably leave you alone. If they are real police they will take you to the station or your hotel, otherwise they will eventually disappear. Never agree to hand over your passport or anything else until you are at one of these places.

Traffic

Forget religious fanatics, gun-toting kidnappers or any other threats you’ve associated with Iran, you’re more likely to get into trouble with the traffic than anything else. Iran has one of the world’s worst road accident rates; more than 200,000 are reported every year and no-one knows how many more are not. Figures vary, but state media reported in 2004 that a staggering 13,570 people had died on the roads during the first six months of the Iranian year 1382 (beginning March 2003).

If you have travelled elsewhere in the region, Iran’s traffic chaos may come as little surprise, but if you have arrived from the West, you will be horrified. No-one pays a blind bit of notice to road rules. The willingness of a car to stop at a busy intersection is directly proportional to the size of the vehicles in its path; that’s right, it’s survival of the biggest. Playing on this, some cunning motorists have fitted deafening air horns, usually found on trucks and buses, to their Paykans. A quick blast sees other traffic suddenly screech to a halt, fearing they’ve been outsized. Meanwhile, the Paykan sails through the intersection. Size (or at least the perception that you’re big) matters.

Some cars and all motorbikes use the designated bus lanes that usually go in the opposite direction to the rest of the traffic. Motorbikes speed through red lights, drive on footpaths and careen through crowded bazaars.

While traffic in major cities rarely goes fast enough to cause a serious accident, never underestimate the possibility of dying a horrible death while crossing the road. Vehicles never stop at pedestrian crossings and there aren’t many footbridges or underpasses. You will quickly realise that there’s little alternative to stepping out in front of the traffic, as the Iranians do, and hoping that the drivers will slow down. It may not be much consolation, but the law says that if a driver hits a pedestrian the driver is always the one at fault and the one liable to pay blood money to the family of the victim. Until you’ve got your head around the traffic, perhaps the best advice comes from one pragmatic reader: ‘Cross a busy street with an Iranian person, but make sure the Iranian is closest to the approaching traffic.

Big Jubs

In almost every Iranian city the main streets are lined with jubs (canals), which originally served to distribute drinking water through the city, but now serve as rain-water channels-cum-rubbish-collecting repositories. At the best of times they’re a hazard for anyone crossing a road without looking carefully, and after rain they can quickly turn into raging torrents.

If you’re driving, jubs can be even more hazardous. In many towns the road drops straight into the jub without any form of kerb whatsoever. In Mashhad, we saw one reverse park go horribly wrong when the back wheel dropped off the road and into the jub. The anxious driver tried to drive his way out of the jub before his boss, whom he’d just dropped off, returned, but only managed to drop the front wheel in as well. They were still trying to lift it out three hours later.

Unmarried Foreign Couples

Unmarried foreign couples used to find it very difficult to share a room while travelling around Iran. Recently, however, hotel staff are starting to understand the weird wishes of foreigners and don’t usually ask too many questions. One way to avoid problems is to wear a wedding ring; hotel receptionists usually accept that foreign females don’t take their husbands’ family name on marriage, since Iranian women don’t either.

Travelling to Iran?
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