Isn't it? What attracts my attention the most are arguments along the lines of, "but, masses of tourists entering Iran will grant self-confidence to Iranians, they will feel validation in regards to the greatness of their nation and culture". This being generally concomitant to an intense preoccupation about avoiding to "lose face" with a global mainstream public known to be largely brainwashed by media under the control of globalist mafiosi and the zio-American empire. The underlying suggestion being, "the mullahs and the Islamic Republic are making us lose face".
This insecurity about their own selves which some tend to have, unless and until they receive the apparent blessing of the white man (who most of the time will offer them a smile while actually looking down upon and despising them with a passion). It is a common phenomenon across the global south, which has given rise to ample academic research.
In Iran this mindset has historically been relatively widespread among modern day secular nationalists (although it's of course not confined to the mentioned current, liberals of all shades representing an additional, extreme example). Case in point the shah regime, perfect illustration of this deep-seated inferiority complex towards the western world and of its corollary, namely a schizophrenic view of the same western imperialist oppressors, coupled with an incapacity to shed the shackles of cultural subjugation to the latter. Of course we could cite Hassan Taqizadeh as well, the Pahlavi regime official under Reza Khan and prominent face of secular Iranian nationalism, who infamously stated that Iran must become entirely western in every way if it were to progress.
Related to the above is the mixture of shame and disdain some Iranians feel vis à vis the outer appearance, including and especially on the sartorial level, of those among their compatriots whose lifestyles happen to be most rooted in local traditions, who happen to be least affected by cultural and ideological westernization (
qarbzadegi, sometimes sold to us as "modernity"), and who generally belong to the working class. This bitter contempt and condescension towards the poor, religious, conservative, bearded, inelegantly clothed, sweating, unperfumed, toiling
mostaz'af, the
khaki, the most authentic son of the soil in whom the nation's live heritage is organically ingrained, used to be another characteristic trait of the former regime's bourgeoisie. Naturally, the Islamic clergy as whole was a target of this sentiment.
This psyche survived the Islamic Revolution within certain limited circles of society, but gained some steam anew as a result of the west's relentless and massive cultural soft war waged on Iran. As Imam Khomeini (r.A.a.) wisely noted, we expelled the USA in the physical realm, but we are yet to expel its remnants from everyone's minds. There's still a lot of work to do, but who better than revolutionaries in surmounting challenging tasks, since revolutionaries are and will remain self-sacrificing men of struggle.
