Rick Steves special on Iran is timely

The notion of relying on a RS video means you have to do a lot more learning. Me too, actually. But I have a half dozen Iranian friends with dozens of family members caught in this mess. Buti still its their country so the emotions are spread all over the table. G-d bless them all, G-d keep them safe and G-d find a lasting peace.

Time for everybody to scoot to the nearest gas station and fill your car's gas tank (I'm already seeing long lines at Costco). Sigh.

If you want to stick with Farsi the general greeting is

Dorood (درود)

although Salaam works as well.

https://lingopie.com/blog/how-to-say-hello-in-persian/#:~:text=Zohr%20Bekheir%20(ظهر%20بخير),midday%20or%20noon%20in%20Persian.

The Rick Steves special is well worth a look, yes.

CJean, in the last 4 months I have known no less than 6 Iranians who have come to visit the US. All entered with no issues at all. Two are still in the US and may now need to stay.

it just goes to show that although a people can be proud and have a rich heritage that they can also
fall prey to and live under an obnoxious regime. Somewhere in that society there must be some sort of support for such leaders.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/restricting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats/

The above is the current list of countries banned from traveling to the US.

Iran is banned.

“h) Iran
(i) Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. Iran regularly fails to cooperate with the United States Government in identifying security risks, is the source of significant terrorism around the world, and has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals.
(ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Iran as immigrants and nonimmigrants is hereby suspended.”

Per NPR article:

The countries listed in the memo as facing bans are: Angola; Antigua
and Barbuda; Benin; Bhutan; Burkina Faso; Cabo Verde; Cambodia;
Cameroon; Côte D'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti;
Dominica; Ethiopia; Egypt; Gabon; The Gambia; Ghana; Kyrgyzstan;
Liberia; Malawi; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Saint Kitts and Nevis;
Saint Lucia; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; South Sudan; Syria;
Tanzania; Tonga; Tuvalu; Uganda; Vanuatu; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.

Nations already fully banned on June 4 are: Afghanistan, Myanmar,
Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran,
Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Those partially banned are Burundi,
Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

In his first term in office, Trump banned travelers from seven
Muslim-majority countries, but the order was rescinded under the Biden
administration.

I remember watching this RS special years ago. I had thoughts back then on whether I should add Iran as a place I should visit. I also recall thinking there are maybe countries I shouldn’t visit because my tourist dollars may help those in power stay in power. I didn’t have a definitive thought on the subject.

In any case, the decision of whether to visit Iran anytime soon seems to be one that is off the table.

Happy travels!