r/iran

I am from the UK, my dad is going to Iran to visit family, and I have two female cousins aged I think 19 and 16. I wanted to know what gifts I could give him to take them, such as things that would be harder to get there. Is there any brands (thinking more cosmetics etc) that are specifically popular with teens that they would appreciate?

"USS Benfold lost power after ‘engineering casualty’ leaving sailors without galley services, toilets and air conditioning

A US guided-missile destroyer reportedly spent four days adrift and without power in the South China Sea in July, furthering concerns about strain being placed on deployed military members.

The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer which had been sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group, was reported to have been towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines, according to the US Naval Institute News, an independent military publication.

The 10,000-ton destroyer lost power after what a spokesperson with the US seventh fleet called “an engineering casualty involving its generators”, resulting in a loss of power.

That loss of power meant sailors were without galley services, toilets and air conditioning, Commander Matthew Comer told USNI News in a statement. Another vessel, USS Robert Smalls, the cruiser attached to the strike group, had to help provide meals for the crew.

Comer said that the Benfield lost power on 24 July and was towed on 28 July.

...

The USS George Washington strike group on Monday was headed to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, a carrier that in recent days was subject to reports by the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes of multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard after more than 200 days without a port call.

Trump told reporters on Monday the carrier had been at sea for a “good period of time” and said he had spoken with a retired admiral over the weekend who recounted being on ships for “much longer”. Trump said the admiral assured him that the Lincoln is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of”.

Reports of poor morale prompted Democratic lawmakers and military families to demand that the Trump administration answer questions about low morale, mental health challenges and living conditions for crew members.

Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat and retired marine, said on ABC News on Sunday that the problems arose from the Iran war that the Trump administration started in February but has not been able to resolve. The Lincoln originally deployed to the Indo-Pacific before being ordered to sail to the Middle East in January.

“The deep, deep, deep problem here is that this administration did not plan for this war, did not plan how to get out of this war, and did not really understand how this war was going to escalate,” he said."

hi

i'm an artist who lives in iran, i would like to soon put out commissions like many other digital artists and earn by selling stuff on itch.io

problem is these websites often accept services like paypal which are banned here. what solution is there for me to try?

i thought about using iranicard but $70 is quite a lot of money for a paypal acc. i could still use their exchanging services by inserting someone else's card info (who lives overseas) but that is quite risky and i don't want to think about if people would trust me doing this.

any alternative, free or cheaper ways maybe?

I'm saying this based on the following:

Iran has big problems with Azerbaijan, the greatest enemy of Armenia.

Baku dreams to annex the northern provinces of Iran, since they're inhabited by a big azeri-speaking population.

Baku is also a close allie to Israel, that heavily supported Azerbaijan against Armenia in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Iran has all interest in preserving its border with Armenia intact (i.e. in preventing Azerbaijan's invasion of Southern Armenia) in order not to be geostrategically surrounded by Turkey.

Iran is a big country that could serve as a huge market for Armenia's exports, while Armenia could be a perfect economic and cultural broker between Iran and Europe.

What do you think about it?

Is the also a more realistic narrative than "did you know that they killed protesters" ?

It seems like obvious bullsht to me and I don't need evidence of fowl play it should go without saying that if usa wants to attack you then they demonize you first. If that wasn't cia or mosad at least in part, then it wouldn't make sense to me.

It's like people just can't remember what was happening since October 7 and can't imagine anything but what Joe Rogan fed them.

QUESTION

Born and raised in Australia. Have an exit stamp on my iranian passport (stamped on Khordad 1404/June 2025). I have not travelled to Iran since the stamp was issued. I intend to traved to Iran in the coming days. Do I need another exit stamp?

As an Iranian, what in your opinion others misunderstand about Iran, current war, political situation, anything else?

Asking as a non-Iranian who’s never been to the country and has had very little interaction with Iranians. And probably only knows the western narrative of the conflict.