Sir, - I was delighted to read Patsy McGarry's report on life in Iran (Weekend, January 6th). As a regular visitor to that beautiful and contradictory country (10 trips over the past four years), it is great to see reasonably balanced coverage of a people and a way of life that are both widely misunderstood in the West.
My university department (the Scottish Hotel School in the University of Strathclyde) has established the first formal co-operative partnership between an Iranian college and western Europe since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, permitting Iranian students to gain our university awards through study in their home country. The field is tourism, indicating the determination of the Iranian authorities to develop this potentially significant area within their economy.
We have seen major changes in the social and political climate since our first visits in the mid-1990s but, as recent arrests of foreigners at a party in Tehran indicate, change is fragile and unpredictable. Iran is certainly a fascinating place to visit and one where the warmth of the people more than makes up for any practical restrictions that may be faced.
I would, however, strongly dispute Patsy McGarry's footnote suggesting anti-British sentiment in Iran. It is vital to distinguish the official "state" position, which is very hostile to the US and ambivalent to Western European countries (not only Britain), from the attitudes of people "on the street", especially the young people that we work with. Many Iranians have relatives in the US and Europe and are actively interested in most things from the West - music and football in particular. - Yours, etc.,
Tom Baum, Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, Scotland.