Have any US citizens been successful in getting tourist
visas for Iran? I tried in the former Soviet Union and got
laughed at.
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Please read the Iran section of Lonely Planet 'Postcards';
also the LP Iran 'update', both are accessible through the
main LP web page www.lonelyplanet.com.au . Also see
http://www.csd.uu.se/~pierref/travel/iran.guide.html . Read
the post by Kalia.
I heard of an American who got an Iranian visa in Turkey.
I am not sure if it was in Istambul or Ankara. He was part
of a tour group but all Iranian visas are for individuals
not for groups. I have also met people (not Americans) who
got short transit visas in Turkey and then extended them a
couple of times inside Iran. A transit visa was much
easier to get than a tourist visa.
As an iranian who regularly visits this site, I come across
several postings as well as inquiries to myself, from US
nationals on how to get to Iran. I would like to put a last
word on it:
No US national can get a visa ( with or without Iranian
sponsor ) to Iran. The only way is through travel agencies.
Now if you're not for a guided tour, there is this chance
for you to have an individual tour for you alone ( which
will cost a bit high of course ). The point is the Iranian
government would like to keep an eye on you. It is both for
your safety and that of our national security!
And if there are so many Americans willing to visit Iran,
why don't you find each other on the net and make a tour
group of your own ( under a travel agency )Lonely planet-
style?!
Amir does not know wherof he speaks.
Kalia, you DON'T need to teach me about my country!
Thank you.
....if it is so hard for a US citizen to get a visa, why is
this so? Is it because, perchance, the Iranian govt.
discourages dealings between the USA and Iran? Could all
the Anti-USA sentiment we see so much of in the Westerrn
press reflect the policy of the Iranian government? Could
this idea be extended to a valid concern for the safety of
Americans once they are in Iran? No doubt there will be
those who disagree, but these are just questions I would
ask myself if I was American. If an American was killed IN
Iran merely because of their citizenship, who would be
blamed? The American for going to a place where there is a
good chance they may be targetted for racial aggression, or
the Iranians for their dislike of anything associated with
the USA. A bit like a few years ago when the Cambodian
govt. had a policy of passively (or maybe not so passively)
encouraging the beheadding any Australians in their
country.......
There is an extremist minority in Iran which, for whatever
stupid reason, has interests in keeping this status between
Iran and US this cold.
They WON'T miss any chance to reach their goal ( and
intersts ). Now imagine it like this: an American
backpacker in whatever remote point of Iran suddenly gets
lost. What happens next? What would be reaction of the US
govn? What will happen to Iranian tourism industry in
general and that of Iran-US in particular? Would the US
govn accept an excuse like this: " ..sorry, but we had told
you there are people who still oppose US.."? I tell you who
likes this: there are two groups: anti-Khatami on our side
and the D'Amato type people on the US side. Everything will
get back to what it was before President Khatami's
interview with CNN.
Now, the Iranian govn which is definitely FOR tourism
expansion ( even with US ) has found a possible way to
avoid such incidents, to let us pass through this transient
time until everything will really get normal. And what
response does it get? That, travel agencies has built up a
way to profit!!! Nonsense.
The financial turn-over of US tourists for an Iranian
travel agency is nothing in comparison with that of the
rest of its activities. I have researched this all, because
I was really curios and travel-concerned. And these are my
findings. Now, if some-one says the travel agencies shall
close down in Iran, because they profit of giving services
to US tourists and they are not non-for-profit, I would
suggest him/her to reconsider his/her knowledge of politics
and economics!
I hate to have to speak for travel agencies in this case,
but it is better for us, backpackers, be fair and just,
even if no-one ( travel agency ) is around represented in
this site.