> Iran always seems like they have more enemies than friends

Because the core of the Iranian Revolution is quite similar to Maoism [0] but also very interested in exporting the revolution abroad.

You have to remember that the Iranian Revolution only happened in 1979, and most of Iran's modern leadership were foot soldiers and even leadership during Iran's Cultural Revolution [1] in the 1980s (eg. Rouhani, Larijani, Aref, Arafi).

Imagine if China today was ruled by active Red Guard, or if the 1976 autocoup failed - that's Iran, but with a dose of Islamism.

> I guess I overplayed the Shia/Sunni divide.

Yep. In fact, a number of Sunni states saw contemporary attempts to mimic the Iranian Revolution such as in Saudi Arabia with the Kaaba Siege, the Afghan Revolution in 1979 which led to the Soviet Occupation, and the burning the US Embassy in Islamabad in 1979 [2].

[0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47108706

[1] - https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7...

[2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_U.S._embassy_burning_in_I...

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seanmcdirmid 42 minutes ago | parent [-]

I took a Chinese course in Beijing with the son of an Iranian diplomat as a classmate and we did not gel, but frankly thats my only experience. The funny thing was that the guy was a huge womanizer/drinker, which I also hear is normal for Iran. Iranians actually seem quite liberal by Muslim standards (if it wasn't for the whole revolutionary guard/cleric leadership, again by my limited maybe outdated experience), which is weird when our side has the KSA, one of the most conservative countries on earth.

It is a pity really, Iran is on my bucket list for food, culture, and natural beauty. More so than any other country in that area, its too bad about the whole "death to America" thing.

	▲	alephnerd 14 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> son of an Iranian diplomat as a classmate and we did not gel, but frankly thats my only experience. The funny thing was that the guy was a huge womanizer/drinker, which I also hear is normal for Iran It's similar to China in that regard - rhetoric doesn't matter and you always look out for number one. There's a reason why socially speaking China's Harvard remains Harvard even despite Peking and Tsinghua becoming global tier institutions, and why leadership who should supposedly be earning a couple thousand dollars a year are chauffeured in Audi A8s with full protocol in Beijing. Most normal people are chill and average, but there's still a whole separate world of people within a small selectorate. > which is weird when our side has the KSA, one of the most conservative countries on earth KSA has socially liberalized as well, and the same style of hijab as you would see in Iran is the norm. That said, unlike Iran's incumbent leadership, MBS and much of the governmental apparatus is highly likely to liberalize in the UAE manner in the next 3-5 years. The main blocker has been succession - MBS isn't officially king yet, as King Salman continues to reign. That said, it would still remain an authoritarian state. > It is a pity really, Iran is on my bucket list for food, culture, and natural beauty. More so than any other country in that area, its too bad about the whole "death to America" thing Yep. It is what it is.