hello,
the situation could be a bit weird in iran at the moment, if you look at the occidental news. but once you re there if you manage to get the visa, i guess there s nothing weird, as usual : our news are "manipulating" us. same stories with pakistan and many other countries.

visa delivery, as always, depends on your nationality. for americans who want to go to iran, it may be harder to get a visa than for the swiss people :-)
this "invitation business thing" (as money is required) with the bookings in advance of hotels etc ... is a local agreement between the iran embassy in a country and some traval agents.
it s official and not official, since some iran embassies in some countries require this "invitation business thing", some other iran embassies in other countries don't.
in france, for example, they used to ask this "invitation business thing" and i think it has changed now. if you ask for an iran visa in the -stans (what i did before), they require nothing to get a visa.
for the visa application pictures for the women, yes, it would be clever to wear a scarf, just to show that you care a bit about their culture, even if it's only appearance.
same story, to get a -stans visa : depending on your nationality, you need a "invitation business thing" or not.
finally, if things get bad in a country, they won t give you a visa.
hope it helps,
nb : more practical info about iran on : Informations pratiques : Iran


[This message has been edited by vincent danna (edited 12 January 2006).]

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Vincent Danna

* www.va-project.com
Sept 2008 - dec 2009 : Voyage et art contemporain en Amérique du sud.

* http://vincent.danna.free.fr/
2002 - 2004 : Un tour du monde en moto.