> 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.