In 2004-2007 I went to Iran three times. This is the story of what I saw on my first nine-day work trip, where I had three very different experiences in three different large cities. I suppose my lasting impression is of a very ancient culture undergoing its own process of modernisation while out of touch with the world, of a substantial divide in the population, and of a culture of risk-taking and conspiracy theories.

Oddly, when I first posted this story online,, it was instantly routed to a dozen addresses in Washington DC.

The link here delivers both the story and subscribes to my newsletter, which is based on new posts to this website.