Iranians who are no longer polite

Key words: Iran studies; Iranian nuclear issue; Iranian history; Sino-Iran relations

one

introduction

In Iran’s social culture, the most important thing is the courtesy culture (Ta’arof). When two friends meet, they must greet each other’s family members cordially, “How is your wife’s health?” “How is your daughter’s education?” “Ling Zun Lingtang How's the situation?" Wait, no matter how important the two sides are to discuss, the first ten minutes of courtesy content cannot be escaped. It is not only for relatives, friends or native Iranians who are so polite. Even foreigners who come to their own shops to buy goods have a fixed set of polite words to say. When the other party asks the price, the shopkeeper will not answer the price but will say, "This thing is worthless." (Ghabel nadare), the other party asks the price again, and the answer is still "this is worthless". After such rounds of question and answer, the shopkeeper can Will tell you the exact price of the item.

The Iranians attach so much importance to the content of the courtesy process that they will inform the price when foreign customers are bored. However, after entering the 21st century, the content of the courtesy has become more and more streamlined, so that most businesses no longer treat foreign customers. Will answer the specific commodity price. What factors have changed, causing the Iranians who are so keen on politeness to change their impression of the past and become more capable and efficient?

two

Shifting tourism and deteriorating economic conditions

This change is not due to Iranians becoming more rude or hostile to foreigners, but a product of the deteriorating economic situation. When the country's economic situation is good, the significance of tourism for cultural dissemination and building a national image is more important than economic income. With the implementation of international sanctions, after the economic situation deteriorates, the role of tourism in economic revenue will be strengthened, surpassing that of culture. impact on.

(1) Tourism as an exhibit

Iran has a long history and has a splendid ancient Persian civilization in history, which Iranians are very proud of. Although it has suffered several foreign invasions, it still maintains its Iranian (Persian) character. Iranian hospitality culture is unique in the Middle East, different from Arab culture and Turkish (Turkic) culture. Although the cultures of the three East Asian countries, China, Japan and South Korea all have a courtesy culture, there is a big difference between the Iranian hospitality culture and the East Asian hospitality culture. The courtesy of the Chinese is limited to the Chinese people, and the Chinese treat foreigners with another set of etiquette; while the Iranians are happy to impose the courtesy culture on foreigners, which makes people feel how the Iranians pay attention to etiquette and warmth. This idea arises from pride and pride in one's own culture, and exporting one's own culture sometimes takes precedence over business results when dealing with foreigners. Iranians often recite the verses of the famous Iranian poet Saadi or Hafez to express their regrets when they do not reach an agreement in bilateral talks, regardless of whether the other party can understand the connotation of the verses.

Iranians see themselves as descendants of Aryans and are culturally close to European countries. Similar to Turkey's situation, Iran identifies to some extent with its "Europeanness". Although Iran is located in Southwest Asia, the standard system adopted by the country is consistent with that of Europe, and Iran's electrical appliances and related equipment are all European standards. The contact between the two has become close since the 19th century, and the long-term exchanges between the two sides in history have also laid a certain foundation for the intimate relationship between the people. Iran has a high English penetration rate, and according to the ranking provided by EF 2021, Iran ranks 58th worldwide and 2nd in the Middle East, after Lebanon. [1] These conditions make tourists from Western countries willing to go to Iran for consumption or play. After having rich reception experience, the Iranian tourism sector can also provide better services for Western tourists, both of which are positively stimulating.

(ii) Tourism as an alternative to oil revenue

As one of the founding members of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), Iran's national income is extremely dependent on the income from oil sales, although the proportion of Iran's oil income has been decreasing in recent years, between 2018 and 2020, the export oil income accounted for GDP The proportions were 13.5%, 7.3% and 5.1% respectively. Iran itself is rich in oil resources. By the end of 2020, Iran has proven recoverable oil reserves of about 157.8 million barrels, accounting for 9.1% of the world's remaining recoverable oil reserves. [2] Before the United States banned countries from buying oil from Iran and after the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran exported an average of 2.537 million barrels of oil per day in 2011 and 2.125 million barrels in 2017, respectively. In the period after being sanctioned, the average daily oil exports in 2015 and 2020 were 1.081 million barrels and 404,000 barrels, respectively; [3] In 2019, Iran’s oil revenue ($19.23 billion) was directly and significantly reduced, even not at all. 1/3 of that in 2018 ($60.5 billion). [4] In this context, whether other sources of income can remain stable is an issue that Iran must pay attention to.

Iran's tourism industry is a key local industry, and the income brought by foreign tourists has become an important part of Iran's economy. According to data provided by the World Bank, from 2000 to 2019, the number of tourists visiting Iran each year increased from 1.342 million to 9.107 million. Tourism revenue rose from US$680 million (about 0.62% of GDP) in 2000 to US$5.25 billion (about 1.8% of GDP) in 2018. Iranian officials have vigorously developed tourism as an alternative to restricted oil export earnings, and the development of the tourism industry can also help address poverty and severe unemployment in Iran.

(3) The deteriorating economic situation

The deteriorating economic situation requires Iranians to become more pragmatic and flexible, and the pressure to survive suppresses Iranians' pride in their civilization.

1. High inflation

Iran's inflation rate has been much higher than the world average for a long time, and after entering the 21st century, it has soared. According to data provided by the World Bank, from 2000 to 2020, the average annual inflation rate in Iran was 18.30% (the world average is 3.35%), of which the inflation rate in 2013, 2019 and 2020 was more than 30%, respectively. were 36.6%, 39.9% and 30.6%. Iran's economic development level is far behind the inflation rate, and the average annual GDP growth rate during the same period is only 3.02%, which means that the vast majority of Iranians are facing huge survival pressure. If a foreigner is polite and loses a business in vain, the cost of the loss will far exceed the pride of showing the culture. In the case of foreigners patronizing, the highest priority becomes transaction rather than communication. Everything is conducive to communication and not communication. All processes that favor the transaction should be abandoned, so it is no longer an "obligation" to be courteous to foreigners.

2. Lack of reliable sources of foreign exchange earnings

On the other hand, Iran's currency exchange rate fluctuates significantly. The official Iranian currency, the rial, is far less valuable than the commonly used domestic foreign currencies (dollars and euros). The urgent need for foreign exchange has led Iranian businessmen to pay more attention to completing transactions. According to data provided by the Iranian exchange rate website BONBAST, in June 2021, 1 US dollar was exchanged for 241,940 Iranian rials, and just one year later, 1 US dollar was exchanged for 318,860 Iranian rials, a depreciation of 24.1%,[5]

In this case, exchanging your own domestic currency for fixed assets or foreign currency is the best way to deal with it. However, it is difficult for ordinary people to exchange foreign currency through official channels, so the black market is very prosperous. Compared with foreign currency obtained from the black market, it is obviously a safer and more reliable way to do business with foreigners. At this time, the significance of tourism business is no longer simply profit-seeking, but also a guarantee for safeguarding their own survival. The vast number of Iranian people also realize this, so one of the national characteristics - the "small businessman" thinking began to play. effect.

three

Implement the "small businessman" thinking of the whole country

The "little businessman" thinking of the Iranians does not only exist in the merchant class, but can be reflected at all levels, even in small business dealings, often showing obvious utility.

(1) "Small businessmen" at the non-governmental level

The "small businessman" mentality of the traditional Iranian business class requires itself to constantly change the way of doing things. In Iran, in order to attract foreign customers, many small traders will learn basic greetings in multiple foreign languages to shorten the distance with tourists and sell their goods or services. At the same time, there will be Iranians who take the initiative to chat with foreigners, and will continue to emphasize their love for the foreigner's motherland. Their attitude is sincere and irresistible. However, after a short exchange, they will show that they are engaged in a certain commodity. Trade merchants can provide very favorable discounts, etc. These behaviors are all manifestations of "small merchants" thinking.

(2) Institutional "small businessman" thinking

The "little businessman" mentality is also reflected in the Iranian system. Foreigners will also be aware of the issue of the timeliness of value between foreign currencies and rials. When making consumption, they will give priority to paying rials in their hands and refuse to pay in foreign currencies. Soldiers will stop it, and water will cover it. The Iranian government tacitly allows the business community to earn "extra income" from foreigners, and at the same time provides institutional support. On June 25, 2022, the Iranian Airline Association announced that foreign passengers must pay in US dollars when purchasing air tickets for domestic routes in Iran, and orders paid in rials will not be accepted. The price is $100 for a single ticket, with a flat price of $150 for flights of more than 1 hour. [6] However, the cost of flying for Iranian citizens is much lower than that for foreign passengers. Take the flight from Tehran to Shiraz as an example. Each flight takes more than 1 hour, and the average fare is 9,000,000 rials ( about $28). In other words, non-Iranian passengers need to pay a difference of up to 400% on the same flight, and also bear the time cost of floating exchange rates.

This is not the first time that Iranians and foreigners have been treated differently. Major attractions in Iran have long implemented a tiered fare system. The fare for foreigners is about 10 times the fare purchased by Iranians. Iranian citizens board the meter. The Rad Tower costs only 880,000 riyals (about $3) and foreign tourists need to pay $33 to board it. [7] Attractions and services are no longer used by Iran as a platform to showcase its glorious history and culture to other countries, but as a channel to obtain foreign exchange. With the simultaneous occurrence of currency depreciation and inflation, more and more fields will treat national citizens and non-citizens differently. The long-term development of this behavior pattern is not conducive to maintaining Iran's international image, but also directly Reducing the willingness of foreigners to stay in Iran has led to a large number of foreigners in Iran leaving Iran, which can be said to be exhausted.

(3) "Small businessmen" thinking at the national level

The Iranians' thinking of small businessmen is also reflected in the negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal, which are still confusing in the world. When the other party makes certain concessions, the Iranians immediately put forward new demands to seek more benefits for themselves. In March 2022, Iran's Islamic Parliament set three red lines for the negotiating delegation of the Iran nuclear deal: "Remove all sanctions since the United States withdrew from the "Iran Nuclear Agreement", "set up a verification mechanism to ensure that sanctions are lifted", "guarantee that the United States will not Withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal again.” [8] Based on this, the Iranian delegation conducted non-direct contact negotiations with the U.S. delegation to reach an agreement and sign the agreement. However, on April 21, 2022, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, announced that technical negotiations with the United States had ended, leaving only political issues to be resolved. [9] Iran keeps asking the United States to release some of Iran’s frozen funds to express its willingness to cooperate. However, as early as 2021, Iran urged South Korea to thaw Iran’s assets in South Korea by detaining a South Korean oil tanker, but Iran itself has not terminated it. uranium enrichment activities to demonstrate their willingness to cooperate. As of May 2022, the United States and Iran have conducted eight rounds of negotiations and have not yet signed any substantive agreement. However, the level of Iran's nuclear industry has long been incomparable. This habit of doing both hands at the same time comes from the pragmatic nature of the Iranians.

Four

Flexible and pragmatic Iranians

The pragmatism of the Iranians prompts them to focus on making decisions in the short term and stop losses in time. Iran is a secular religious country, similar to the political model of Western countries, with a presidential parliamentary system. Although the president is the head of state, he does not have real power. National affairs are controlled by the religious leader Ali Khamenei. The decision to return to the negotiating table of the Iran nuclear deal was also made at the behest of Khamenei.

(1) Negotiations and uranium enrichment are carried out simultaneously

Iran's uranium enrichment activities continue regardless of whether the Vienna talks are suspended or not. Iran's development of the nuclear industry is also out of realism. If it cannot reach an agreement with the United States at the negotiating table, Iran will make every effort to develop in the direction of nuclear deterrence. Although Islami has repeatedly claimed that Iran's nuclear program is for the purpose of peace and improvement of national development and serves the Iranian people,[10] Iran's uranium enrichment level and reserves have far exceeded the 2015 Iranian nuclear program The size of the allowed holdings in the agreement. According to the report provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has been enriching uranium with a concentration of 20% since January 2021, and enriched uranium with a concentration of 40% in April of that year; Iran already has 3491.8 kg of enriched uranium, These included 238.4 kg of 20% enriched uranium and 43.1 kg of 60% enriched uranium,[11] already exceeding the original agreement capacity by 18 times. The enriched uranium after reaching a concentration of 60% can already be used to make nuclear weapons, while the enriched uranium normally used for the development of nuclear energy only needs a concentration of 4%. Therefore, it is self-defeating that Iran develops its nuclear industry for peaceful purposes.

(2) Flexible and changeable diplomatic relations

Iran has been subject to more than one international sanctions, and its way of communicating with the West has been blocked. In order to ensure that it is not isolated and helpless, Iran timely implements the "Look East" strategy and maintains goodwill with China, India and other Asian countries and Russia. At present, apart from Iran, the United States has a bigger competitor at the international level - China, and China, as a rising power, is constantly increasing its influence. Iran hopes to use the development of relations with China in exchange for China's support for itself in the Vienna negotiations. Coupled with friendly relations with Russia, the odds of winning will be higher than if Iran faces the United States alone. In this case, Iran is undoubtedly choosing to "free rider" to ease its burden. When the West lifted sanctions on its own and was willing to resume exchanges with Iran, Iran turned to the West again.

Iran has never had a truly lasting ally in its history, and what is a close partner today may be an adversary tomorrow. Pragmatic Iranians look to each other to solve pressing problems facing Iran before forming alliances. During the Pahlavi Dynasty, in order to implement the "third country foreign policy", Iran maintained a high degree of close contact with Nazi Germany. It is not uncommon for imams in mosques across Iran to pray and recite sutras for Nazi Germany, and Iran officially allows a large number of Germans Intelligence technicians are stationed across the country. Since Iran is located in the southern section of the Allied supply route, these personnel undoubtedly became a threat to the Allies. After the British and the Soviet Union invaded from the north and the south in 1941, Iran immediately announced that it agreed to meet the requirements of the two countries. The United States became Iran's closest partner country after World War II. However, after the cleric forces led by Khomeini launched the Islamic Revolution, Iran became the most radical country in the world against the United States. History has shown that there are considerable risks behind becoming an overly close partner country with Iran, and China must think about how to handle its relationship with Iran.

five

Rethinking China-Iran relations

Will Russia and China, the two major powers with the friendliest relations with Iran, repeat the mistakes of Germany and the United States? Is the friendly relationship between Iran and China genuinely agreeing with the values of a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by China, or is it a temporary product under the hostile situation between Iran and the United States? China and Iran signed the China-Iran 25-Year Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement on March 28, 2021,[12] and China has invested extensively in infrastructure projects in Iran, including the construction of several domestic railways and the "New Silk Road" linking Urumqi and Tehran. Road" rail transport road. [13]

However, this kind of cooperation is not an imagined win-win cooperation, but a cooperation with huge hidden dangers. On the one hand, the construction of infrastructure projects takes time. Under the circumstance of the devaluation of the Iranian currency, a project that could generate profits when the contract was signed could only be able to break even at the time of completion and delivery due to exchange rate changes. There are often incidents of arrears in project payment in Sino-foreign cooperation projects, and Chinese companies often watch their business gradually turn into a loss-making business. In addition, Iran's trade legal clauses are of a serious nature of protection. When disputes between China and Iran occur, it is often ruled that the losses caused by the results can only be borne by the Chinese side.

On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, Iran regards itself as a European country psychologically, and most of the standard systems adopt European standards. Although the design and construction are all provided by Chinese companies or departments, the specifications and standards used in the project are all European standards, not China's national standards. The move shows that Iran still has high expectations for Europe and prepares for European companies to re-enter Iran. If Iran is unwilling to cooperate with China in construction in the future, European companies can seamlessly connect to the construction projects left by China without any adjustment. Just as Iran has made two-handed preparations on the nuclear issue, once it can resume contacts with Europe, the living environment of Chinese companies in Iran will be nowhere near the top. From this point of view, how to safeguard one's own interests in exchanges with Iran requires a better understanding of the current China-Iran relations.

And it is still unknown how the safety of life and property of personnel stationed abroad in Iran will be guaranteed. When there was a conflict between the two companies, Chinese personnel were detained by Iranian companies. Iran’s economy is so turbulent, social security problems are serious, and robbery and theft are common. Foreigners who do not speak Farsi will not report to the police, so they become robbers. The best target, the actual foreigners, are almost only Chinese; the anti-Chinese sentiment among Iranians is high, and it has reached a high point after the outbreak of the epidemic. And all of this happened under the fact that China and Iran maintained a fairly "close" official relationship. Why should the price of friendship between the two countries be paid by the constant fear and anxiety of each lively and specific person?

six

in conclusion

Facing the ever-changing internal and external environment, Iranians change their life strategies in a timely manner, and their cultural pride for their own nation gives way to the pressure of realistic survival. However, national identity still plays an important role in communication with the outside world. How to understand the true intentions of Iranians is an important part of communication. At the same time, in view of Iran's flexible and changeable diplomatic strategy, the development trend of China-Iran relations requires a deeper understanding to prevent national interests from being damaged and violated in the future.

[1] EF, EF English Proficiency Index, A Ranking of 112 Countries and Regions by English Skills, 2021, https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/, accessed July 5, 2022.

[2] BP, Statistical Review of World Energy 2021, 70th edition. pp16-33.

[3] “Iran Crude Oil: Exports”, CEIC, https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/iran/crude-oil-exports, accessed July 5, 2022.

[4] “Iran’s 2019 Oil Export Revenue Declines to 1/3”, Ministry of Commerce website of the People’s Republic of China, July 15, 2020, http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/article/i/jyjl/j /202007/20200702983223.shtml, last accessed July 5, 2022.

[5] “Live exchange rates in Iran’s free market”, BONBAST, https://www.bonbast.com/, accessed July 5, 2022.

[6] «هزینه بلیت هواپیما برای اتباع غیر ایرانی دلاری شد», IRNA, June 25, 2022, https://irna.ir/xjJP7d, accessed July 5, 2022.

[7] هزینه بازدید از «؛ ؛ ؛ 33 دلار خارجی ها ها ها ها ها برای برای ایرانی ها», ecoiran, February 27,2022, https://www.ecoiran.com/fa/tiny/news-11774, access july 5, 2022.

[8] «منافع ملی و خطوط قرمز ایران در توافق احتمالی», IRNA, March 11, 2022, https://irna.ir/xjHLZx, accessed July 5, 2022.

[9] “Iran: Technical issues in Vienna nuclear talks completed but political issues remain to be resolved,” Al Jazeera, April 21, 2022, https://chinese.aljazeera.net/news/political/2022/4/ 21/Technical issues of Iran nuclear talks in Vienna completed but political issues remain, last visited: 5 July 2022.

[10] «معاون رئیس جمهور: فناوری هسته‌ای در خدمت مردم قرار می‌گیرد», IRNA, March 12, 2022, https://irna.ir/xjHMDV, accessed July 5, 2022.

[11] “Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015)”, IAEA, May 30, 2022, p11.

[12] “Wang Yi Holds Talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 28, 2020, https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/wjbz_673089/xghd_673097/202103/t20210328_9175167.shtml, last visit When: July 5, 2022 .

[13] Tianyang Li, “Belt & Road Initiative expands China-Iran cooperation”, Chinadaily, January 25, 2019, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201901/25/WS5c4aa81da3106c65c34e6912.html, accessed April 28 , 2022.