Iranian life in detail. Three days in a country that is being choked by sanctions

Report by Yaroslav Susov from New Year’s (!) Tehran.

The Russian national team hasn’t had any matches against really powerful opponents for a year now, so the match with Iran should have been important and interesting.

And not only because of the status of the opponent (24th in the FIFA ranking), but also because of the location (Iran has been surviving under sanctions for many years).

Sports.ru went to Iran with the Russian team and saw how they live there, what problems they face and how they hate the United States, but enjoy all the benefits of the Western world.

Iran is hard to get into. And inside it is difficult to understand even the monetary system

It is not easy to get into Iran and not get lost in it, despite the ever more friendly political relations between our countries.

Russia and Iran have a visa regime (although, for example, you can get from Azerbaijan, Armenia and China without extra documents). To obtain a journalist visa, you need a request to Tehran with a letter from the Ministry of Sports or the RFU, which, according to the rules, must be processed for about a month. Only in this way there is a chance to officially work in Iran as a journalist.

Some colleagues were cut off at the visa stage. Someone simply did not have time to issue it – they deployed it directly to Sheremetyevo. Another hour and a half was not allowed into Iran at passport control, because the border guards did not like the photo.

It turned out that the adventure was just beginning at the border.

The Russian national team was hosted on New Year’s Day. Yes Yes! In Iran, an unusual system of chronology – on March 21, 1402 came hereand the work week starts on Saturday. Thursday and Friday are days off. Therefore, throughout the country now New Year holidays: from Tuesday to Saturday. Everything is closed, the streets are empty, locals travel around the country and do not work. 

Not only cafes, shopping centers and carpet shops are closed in the city. Banks also do not work, it is impossible to exchange currency in Tehran with a population of 12 million (only if the peasants are near ATMs, only they don’t speak English at all), get a SIM card – too, buy groceries – except perhaps after dinner.

Another problem is money. Iran has a very weak currency. At the airport, $1 costs 42,000 fogs. And another piece of paper in different places is called differently.

I will show on the example of this banknote.

It says 500,000 rials.

But in general, this is 50,000 tomans, or just 50. In the Iranian application with a taxi, prices are in rials (500,000), in some stores – in tomans (50,000), and in others – in thousands of tomans (50). It’s very easy to get confused.

But with Iranian money you feel rich. $300 is five huge packs, 140 million rials. 

True, there is nowhere to spend money. The main expenses are a SIM card for five dollars and a taxi from the airport for 13 (later it turns out that the real price is three times lower). Because everything is closed.

There are many unusual details in Iran. 

For example, the fancy subway. Very cute but with a twist.

Foreigners can ride in it for free. The fact is that a ticket can only be bought with an Iranian card, cash is not accepted. So the police or subway employees let people through without Iranian cards just like that.

The first three carriages on each train are for women only, usually they are there, in hijabs, but no one observes this rule during rush hour.