"Iran is Safe"

BM, cashier at a kabobi, Tehran

“My people are all from Baku [Azerbaijan], although I was born on the Iran side of the border. In this place, we’re all Turks; Turks from Tabriz, Azerbaijan, Ardebil. We all understand each other.

“There was a time that the border between Iran and Azerbaijan was open and I went to see Baku. It was clean, nice.

“But I rather live here in Iran. Yes, it is nicer there and more freedoms. But you could be walking down the street and somebody shoots you just because you made a joke. Everyone is carrying a gun. It’s not safe.

“Here in Iran, there’s safety. You walk down the street no one does anything to you.

“The only problem here is the difficulty in making money. If you have money, you can live very well.

“If I had the money I’d live out in the country. Tehran’s air eventually kills your body. It’s terrible. But living out in the country, you can live pretty well on not that much money.”

Q: Does your restaurant serve good food?

“Not really.”