Our Man in Tehran (Part One)

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> THOMAS ERDBRINK: Once upon a time, on a dusty road, I met a girl.

(laughing) >> ERDBRINK: It was in one of the most isolated countries in the world.

(crowd chanting) >> Joining us now is Tehran bureau chief for "The New York Times"... >> Thomas Erdbrink, welcome to the program and thank you for joining me.

>> ERDBRINK: 17 years later, I'm still here.

>> (chuckling) >> Filmed over four years.

>> ERDBRINK: >> Stories from the inside.

>> PREACHER: In a country where nothing is allowed... >> But everything is possible.

>> ERDBRINK: For you.

>> A special two-part "Frontline" series.

>> ERDBRINK: >> "Our Man in Tehran."

>> Say the truth!

This is journalist, you know?

Say all the... >> ERDBRINK: This is TV, we cannot talk very long.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Once upon a time, I met a girl.

♪ ♪ It was right here, along this dusty road.

Like me, she had come to see the last solar eclipse of the 20th century.

♪ ♪ I was a student journalist.

and she, she was a young photographer.

>> NEWSHA: >> ERDBRINK: Yeah.

>> NEWSHA: >> ERDBRINK: Here it was all dust and sand and people, arriving by bus to see the eclipse.

This was also the first time I saw Newsha, because these two buses arrived, one bus with men-- I was in that one, of course-- and one bus with women.

And Newsha was in that bus.

And the women bus, of course, everybody got out first.

And I saw Newsha walking by, and then in my imagination, she looked up to me, and we had, like, a moment.

(laughing) >> Absolutely lie.

(laughs) I'm taking pictures, and I saw there is a queue of maybe one kilometer of people, old people, young people, middle-aged.

They're all waiting, and someone is doing moon dancing.

And it was Thomas, and he was signing-- he was giving signature as if he's Michael Jackson and was doing moon dancing.

>> ERDBRINK: Well, what happened, that I figured these people, they haven't seen a foreigner since the revolution.

And a young guy came up to me and said, "Are you Michael Jackson?"

And then I thought, okay, I can say, "No," or I can say, "Yes."

And I decided to say "Yes."

So I said, "Yes," and all the people started crowding around and saying, "If you're Michael Jackson, do the moonwalk."

So I was, like, doing the moonwalk.

They started asking for my autograph.

And then Newsha came up to me and said, you know, "Who are you and what are you doing?"

And, of course, yeah, I could have married a girl from the Dutch countryside and would, maybe would have been different and maybe in many ways it would have been easier, but I'm happy I choose you.

>> Of course you should be.

(laughing) ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: That was in 1999, 20 years after a massive popular uprising had ended the long rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Ayatollah Khomeini returned from Paris, and the shah's regime, both fairytale-like and ruthless, was replaced by a strictly religious anti-American ideology, banning alcohol and forcing women to wear veils.

(women shouting) ♪ ♪ This is the mysterious and isolated country where I have been living and working for the past 17 years.

>> Thomas Erdbrink, welcome to the program and thank you for joining me.

>> Joining us now is Tehran bureau chief for "The New York Times"... >> ERDBRINK: You mustn't forget, these people have been living under incredible pressures over the last years.

Deal or no deal, it will definitely be an end to the status quo as we have seen it now.

>> All right, Thomas Erdbrink of "The New York Times," thank you very much.

>> ERDBRINK: Okay, thank you for having me.

(water splashing) ♪ ♪ I am one of the last foreign journalists still allowed to work here.

It hasn't always been easy.

It has taken me years to get permission to produce this series, starting back in 2014.

We are given permits to film on the streets.

There are always some suspicious officials who refuse to believe us and tell us we are not allowed to film.

But usually, after a bit of waiting, some discussions and many phone calls, we part the best of friends and are free to carry on.

Perhaps the best way to show what it's like to live in a country like Iran is to start from the inside, with the people around me.

Like my father-in-law and his friends.

I meet them every morning at the pool.

Sometimes we discuss politics, but more often we discuss women.

>> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> MAN: >> That's it, then you're... ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: This is the neighborhood where I found myself a first place to stay.

(man speaking on loudspeaker): In the beginning, Tehran seemed mysterious to me, and with its many walls and doors, it seemed an almost inaccessible city.

♪ ♪ But thanks to my marriage to Newsha, I discovered behind those barriers a completely different world.

>> (calling) >> ERDBRINK: At first, I got a lot of my information during lunchtime with my in-laws, especially about the complicated cultural rules in this country.

Newsha is the only woman here who wears a headscarf, even though she's not obliged to do so indoors.

But she's a well-known photographer, so while we're filming, she doesn't want to take any chances and get into trouble.

>> ERDBRINK AND WOMAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> WOMAN AND ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND WOMAN 2: >> ERDBRINK: >> NEWSHA: >> ERDBRINK: >> WOMAN 1: >> NEWSHA AND WOMAN 2: >> NEWSHA: >> ERDBRINK: >> NEWSHA AND ERDBRINK: But I ask you to marry me.

Yes.

>> ERDBRINK: That's true.

>> Yeah, yeah, I asked him to marry me.

>> WOMAN AND NEWSHA: >> MAN AND NEWSHA: >> WOMAN 2: >> NEWSHA: >> MAN 2: >> NEWSHA AND ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND NEWSHA: (laughing) ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: So, this is how I spend my days.

Sometimes, after lunch, I go out.

As a foreigner, you're instantly approached by friendly people.

Iranians are always happy to chat.

About whatever subject.

>> ERDBRINK: >> WOMAN AND ERDBRINK: >> MAN AND ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: Yes, yes!

>> ERDBRINK AND WOMAN: >> ERDBRINK: Friendly... MAN AND ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: (speaking local language): Yes, I'm coming.

It's very hard to get a word in here-- people come up to you and ask you all kinds of questions like, "What are you doing here?

How much do you earn?"

And "What do the Americans think of Iran?"

(laughing) But the reason I came this day was to buy a cake.

♪ ♪ See this big box?

I have some making up to do.

>> ERDBRINK AND SOMAYEH: Meet Somayeh, my assistant for "The New York Times."

She moved into a new apartment, and I should have dropped by ages ago.

>> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: Divorced women have a hard time in Iran, but their numbers are growing, especially in the cities.

It has taken Somayeh months to find someone willing to rent out an apartment to a single woman.

(Erdbrink laughs) ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Somayeh comes from a strictly religious family in a small, orthodox town near Isfahan.

She married a cousin 12 years her senior, but the marriage didn't work out.

>> ERDBRINK: >> SOMAYEH: >> ERDBRINK: Somayeh used to be a brilliant student of the Quran.

Actually, she was so good that had she continued her studies, she probably would have become an eminent scholar instead of my assistant for "The New York Times."

Back home, her father looked upon it with dismay.

>> SOMAYEH: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND SOMAYEH: ♪ ♪ (laughing) ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: I want to find out more about this dusty, conservative little town where she grew up.

During the six-hour-long trip, it feels as if we've traveled 20 years back in time.

This is where all women dress in black.

Five daily prayer services determine the rhythm of the day.

And this is where Somayeh's father must have been clenching his teeth when he found out about his daughter's divorce and her cosmopolitan lifestyle.

>> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> WOMAN: >> WOMAN: (voice breaking) ♪ ♪ >> Things seem frozen here.

Things do not change that much.

You know, when I was a little child, it was almost this, like that it is now.

You can see new houses are trying to be rebuilt, refurnished outside, inside.

But the speed is still slow.

People cannot afford, you know, refreshing everything once in a while.

And I think it's the same for what's happening in their mind as well, you know?

Speed of life is too slow here.

♪ ♪ >> WOMAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> WOMAN: (women talking softly) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: The following day, we returned to the capital.

Compared to the sleepy, traditional town where Somayeh was born, Tehran looks like a sophisticated metropolis.

Once more, I realize what a bold move she made by leaving her family and Dolat Abad behind.

But, on the bus, it turns out Somayeh is not the only woman in Iran who chooses her own path.

Up front, we meet Ms. Sadjadi, who has been a truck driver for 25 years.

>> ERDBRINK: (laughing) >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK: Okay.

(both speaking local language) ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Thanks to my marriage to Newsha, I've come to understand this country better all the time.

(indistinct talking) Newsha taught me a lot here, and especially about all these invisible rules and all these little mannerisms and things in Iranian culture that, if you're an outsider, you just don't understand.

>> Yeah.

I mean, there are many people who come to Iran, they think of short-term solution, you know.

Like, they're young journalists.

They want to come here, make name for themselves.

So they always pick these subjects that are actually very... very interesting for outside of Iran.

>> ERDBRINK: They, they even have a name for this sort of journalism, and it's, especially in photography, it's called, "Iran under the veil," and it's always the wish from foreign photographers or foreign journalists to come here and to say, "Okay, we managed to bypass the rules, "and we saw the Iranians without headscarves."

>> The reality, yeah.

I mean, for us who, we live here, this is very cliché, very cliché.

Easy journalism, and it's not a story anymore.

>> But Thomas, you can't deny that you're a Westerner yourself, so you are always being influenced by these Western clichés in your reporting.

>> ERDBRINK: Naturally.

You know, I am a Westerner, and I work for Western media, and my audience is also Western.

But it doesn't mean that I cannot sort of undermine those clichés or give a different point of view.

So, for instance, when I write about a ayatollah gives out a new ruling saying that all Iranians should have five children, and the news is that sterilizations of men are no longer allowed or actually become a crime, I want to write a story about that.

But then what people in the West like to hear is this confirmation that a ayatollah has said something and it is as if his entire nation listens to this.

I come with the other story, and I say what the ayatollah says, but I explain that this won't work the way he wants to, in this case.

>> But you never disagree?

>> ERDBRINK: Of course, sometimes we disagree.

I mean, naturally we have different outlooks.

Newsha grew up in Iran, I grew up in Leiden, right?

That's a whole different ballgame.

And I write for a Western audience.

And on top of that, Newsha is now more an artist than a photojournalist, right?

>> No, I try to mix both, not photojournalism, but documentary photography and, um, conceptual.

>> It's good.

Basically, there is always something to argue about.

Go on, continue.

>> No, we always argue.

>> You always argue?

>> Yes, yeah.

Because we both have different ideas, different-- and we don't really compromise with each other.

So that's, yeah.

>> ERDBRINK: Actually, we compromise all the time.

>> Yeah, in the end.

But we always-- and we like it.

This is how we... you know.

>> But remember, in the end, he's the boss.

>> He's the boss in his dream.

>> ERDBRINK: I don't know.

Maybe you believe that relationships have a boss and a follower.

But for us it alternates.

On this subject, she is boss.

On that subject, I am boss.

>> Yeah, so for money thing, Thomas is the boss, because I'm horrible.

>> ERDBRINK: And cars.

>> I'm horrible with money.

I'm, like, the dumbest, you know, person who can handle money, because I don't... (laughs) >> ERDBRINK: Newsha's idea of money is: not spend.

>> Not spending, yes.

>> ERDBRINK: It's very Dutch.

>> It's good.

(Iranian pop song playing) >> ERDBRINK: And this is how a young man from a small town in the Dutch countryside learned to survive in Tehran.

(yells) (singing continues) (woman singing in local language) Full disclosure, I just bought my first brand-new car.

In Tehran, a car is much more than a mode of transport.

It's a house on wheels, especially if you consider how many hours you spend sitting in endless gridlocks that clog up the city each day.

And that is why some basic modifications are an absolute necessity.

>> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> ERDBRINK: Of course what I'm doing here is not just covering the windows with film against the sun.

I'm trying to create in my car a world where the state can't peek inside, so Newsha can take off her veil without being harassed by the morality police.

♪ ♪ The plastic film turns the car into a private area, where the rules of the state don't apply.

But it would be naive to think that it will keep them out of your life.

In this country, the government is watching you 24/7.

And sometimes I'm unpleasantly reminded of this fact.

Like in 2014, when I started filming my life in Iran.

One of the first things I had to swallow was the sudden arrest of Jason Rezaian, my colleague from "The Washington Post."

Security agents entered his house and took him and his journalist wife.

No, I haven't been able to go to his house.

I don't know.

I expect it's under surveillance, you know, which is, which is normal here.

I had no idea why he had been arrested and where he was being held.

(Erdbrink speaking local language) >> ERDBRINK: According to this news article, the public prosecutor's office will bring a charge within the next few days.

The fact that Jason is a dual American and Iranian citizen and works for "The Washington Post" doesn't help.

Since the 1979 revolution, America has become the number-one scapegoat and is blamed for just about everything in Iran.

(man leading crowd in chant) Every year, the Iranian state celebrates the anniversary of the takeover of the American Embassy and the hostage-taking of its diplomats.

Images of the annual celebration are shown worldwide, reinforcing the Western image of an aggressive nation ruled by revolutionary fanatics.

But they are just a few thousand in a city of millions.

(man leading crowd in chant) ♪ ♪ Ramin!

I'm coming down.

The man down in the garden is my Iranian friend Ramin.

He works as a journalist for "The Los Angeles Times" and is fascinated by the animosity between his native Iran and the United States.

>> See, at the beginning of revolution, there were three slogans: freedom, independence, and Islamic Republic of Iran.

What we understand in Iran, and we are reminded every Friday, this freedom is freedom from, freedom from American dominance.

Freedom from American and its allies' dominance.

So this is part and parcel of ideology, who we are as Iranian.

We hate U.S.A. We hate, beyond any remedy, Israel.

>> ERDBRINK: So you're saying that hate is one of the pillars of this ideology.

>> Hating America.

>> ERDBRINK: Hating America... >> And Israel.

>> ERDBRINK: Hating... hating the imperialistic outsiders.

>> Hating the other, hating the oppressors, is part and parcel of this ideology.

It has been incorporated, this, in the ideology.

If you don't hate the oppressors-- now it's America, later, maybe, France-- if America collapse, and there is no oppressions, so we think about the other things.

But as long as there is oppressor, we have somebody to hate.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Of course, the U.S. will never forget nor forgive the occupation of their embassy.

(crowd chanting) But the Iranians in turn say they have lots of reasons to mistrust the United States.

In 1953, the democratically elected Prime Minister Mossadegh nationalized the Iranian oil industry.

The C.I.A.

and the British responded by staging a coup d'état, and the highly popular Mossadegh was ousted.

The shah was brought back to power.

He proved to be a cruel and oppressive leader, and a loyal servant to the U.S.

The U.S. took sides against Khomeini's revolution, and backed Saddam Hussein after he started the long war against Iran.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians were killed.

And there was that other dramatic event-- almost forgotten in the United States.

In 1988 after a skirmish in the Persian Gulf between some Iranian speedboats and the American fleet, a U.S. missile cruiser shot down an Iranian civilian airliner.

(missile launching) >> We have got him.

That was a dead on!

(cheering) >> Relax!

Keep the noise down!

>> Knock it off!

>> ERDBRINK: All 290 people on board were killed.

>> It appears that the captain of that ship followed the rules and, though a tragedy followed, did what he had to do to protect American life.

>> ERDBRINK: The Americans said they had mistaken the Airbus for a fighter plane.

They expressed regrets, but never apologized to Iran.

♪ ♪ That hurt is still not forgotten here.

So, it seemed a miracle when in 2014, there was suddenly hope.

The U.S. joined negotiations for a nuclear agreement that would also ease sanctions on Iran.

So how do people see that when, at the same time, you know, they're shouting, "Death to America," and the state television is promoting "Death to America," but at the same time talking to America?

>> Yes.

But remember, this ideology dictates what should be done.

It dictates that we are talking with the enemy, America, as a foe, not as a negotiator.

Not the other side... >> ERDBRINK: So, it's fine to say "Death to America" because it reminds the people that America is the enemy.

Yes, the leaders are talking to America... >> But with the enemy, with the foe.

>> ERDBRINK: With the foe.

>> Not friend.

>> ERDBRINK: And they're trying to correct the ways of the enemy.

>> Yes.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: It's a complicated situation here.

Besides the elected government, there is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

He has the final say on all things political and religious.

He's backed by the hardliners.

And if you want to hear their opinions, you have to visit Friday prayers.

(man speaking over loudspeaker): >> Every Friday we can see religion is mixed, mingled, and make a concoction, which is called theo-democracy, theo- whatever you call it.

>> ERDBRINK: It reminds everybody here in Iran, religion and politics are mixed.

>> Those who think wishfully that this sort of talks can lead to any rapprochement or normalizations, that America is one country out of more than 190 countries of U.N. General Assembly, they should come sometimes to stop by the Friday prayers in Tehran, just to listen.

(man speaking on loudspeaker): >> ERDBRINK: So while the elected government was talking with the Obama administration about lifting the sanctions, the religious hardliners tried to frustrate the negotiations.

They needed their foreign enemy.

As long as the country was isolated, they could blame the West for everything going wrong in Iran.

(crowd chanting) >> ERDBRINK: Hamid-Reza Ahmadabadi is one of the hardliners' most loyal supporters.

♪ ♪ Every Friday morning, he jumps on his motorcycle to go to the city for the weekly Friday prayers.

And every Friday, he makes sure he's right there at the front.

Yelling close to the cameras, it earned him a nickname in Iran: Mr. Big Mouth.

>> AHMADABADI AND ERDRBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND AHMADABADI: >> ERDBRINK: The first thing I notice in his house are the two decorations on the wall.

One is a picture of the supreme leaders.

The other one depicts the famous Iranian poet Omar Khayyam, holding a glass of wine and a beautiful woman.

If this poet were to go out on the street like this today, he'd be in serious trouble.

>> ERDBRINK: ♪ ♪ (chanting) >> ERDBRINK: Perhaps it is not surprising Mr. Big Mouth is choosing the supreme leader over the poet.

He doesn't want to let the wicked Western world in.

But Ayatollah Khamenei was still allowing the nuclear talks to continue.

And as long as the sanctions were here, I, just like all Iranians, had to deal with the side effects.

"We cannot locate the bank that your card belongs to.

Press to get your card."

So you can't use ATMs, because our banks are not allowed to do business in Iran.

Ta-da!

You end up with stacks of cash.

Try stuffing this in your wallet or pocket!

♪ ♪ While the sanctions were meant to keep the Western world out, one Western product has always been available in Tehran: the American dollar.

(shouting indistinctly) After all, Iran has always been a nation of traders.

>> MAN: (men shouting): >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK: So this is the dollar bazaar and euro bazaar.

People can change money here, and... but these are not normal people.

These are all tradesmen.

And they know each other.

That guy, he's the boss of everything.

The guys who stand on top, they have more information than the rest.

>> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: ♪ ♪ Because there still was no news from my "Washington Post" colleague Jason, I started counting the days he had been imprisoned.

Day 105 now.

And still there is no official complaint.

>> That is part of the power-- ambiguity, unpredictability.

And this is also part of the tradition, part of the culture.

It was in Sassanid time the same, pre-Islamic time the same.

The Sassanid kings ruled the same way.

Now is the same.

And in monarchy time was the same.

Unpredictability.

Then you don't know what is the punishment for anything wrong I do.

For the same wrong thing that you commit and I do, we have different jails, different punishment.

You may be forgiven.

I may be in jail for ten years.

So what is the result?

As a citizen, I'm always intimidated.

There is less and less risk takers, less and less people are eager to speak out their minds.

♪ ♪ Less and less dialogue, debates, interactions, more isolations.

Everybody make a wall around himself to be safe, because he cannot trust.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: If you're feeling miserable in Iran, desperately searching for consolation, not sure about the future, there is at least one place where you can go.

Just take the bus to the city of Shiraz, and then walk to the tomb of the famous Iranian poet Hafez.

Although the poet died 800 years ago, hundreds of visitors gather here every day, each of them harboring a secret wish.

This is where they hope to get answers about their future.

>> ERDBRINK: Uh-huh.

>> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Every Iranian owns copies of Hafez' poems.

He's a national hero, and when asked, every Iranian will have a couple of favorite verses at the ready.

>> ERDBRINK: (laughing) >> WOMAN: >> ERDBRINK: (laughing) >> ERDBRINK: >> WOMAN AND ERDBRINK: (laughing) >> MAN AND WOMAN: >> WOMAN 2: >> WOMAN 1: >> WOMAN AND ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND WOMAN: >> ERDBRINK AND WOMAN: >> WOMAN AND ERDBRINK: ♪ ♪ >> Is there any news from your colleague from "The Washington Post" since yesterday?

>> There was something in Pars News, which is...

I don't know it's official or non-official, but actually it's very suspicious.

>> ERDBRINK: It seems very well connected.

They accuse him of being involved in producing of a video clip of the Pharrell song, "Happy."

You know, this American singer Pharrell, he had a song called-- ♪ Because I'm happy ♪ Like this.

And then Iranians have also made, you know, a copy, a parody of this clip.

Because you know, these young kids, they want to be part of the world.

And then these kids were arrested, and now they're saying that Jason has masterminded the video clip.

>> Or paid the cost of it.

>> ERDBRINK: Or paid for it.

>> ♪ Because I'm happy ♪ ♪ Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof ♪ ♪ Because I'm happy ♪ >> ERDBRINK: So when the American singer Pharrell released his big hit "Happy," young Iranians made their own version of it.

Quite innocent, but still, this is Iran.

>> ♪ Because I'm happy ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Men and women are not supposed to expose themselves dancing together.

♪ ♪ Within a few days, they were all arrested.

At least one person I know would have wholeheartedly approved of that arrest.

>> AHMADABADI: >> ERDBRINK: Internet?

>> ERDBRINK: >> AHMADABADI: >> AHMADABADI: >> ERDBRINK: >> ♪ Bring me down ♪ ♪ Can't nothin'... ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Meanwhile, the young people who made the Iranian version of the "Happy" song were forced to appear on state television.

With their backs to the camera, they had to express their deepest regrets.

>> WOMAN: >> ERDBRINK: After that, the judge gave them a sentence of 90 lashes, suspended.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK AND ABADI: (motor starting) >> ERDBRINK: Day after day, this lonely soldier went out to defend what he thought was the right ideology of the Islamic Republic.

But by his own admission, the tide was against him.

Society was changing, and no matter how much he wanted it, he feared that he would end up losing his battle against modernity.

(singing) ♪ ♪ Two months later, much to Big Mouth's regret, President Obama signed the nuclear deal, lifting sanctions against Iran.

A day later, after 544 days in jail, my colleague Jason was released in a prisoner exchange.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: (Erdbrink laughs) >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> MAN AND ERDBRINK: >> MAN 2: >> MAN 1: >> MAN 1 AND ERDBRINK: >> MAN 1: >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN 1: >> MAN 3: >> ERDBRINK: (laughing) >> MAN: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: By now, I'm used to the fact that America is always blamed for everything in Iran, even for the dried up River of Life in Isfahan.

It's almost as if Iran wants an enemy.

Ayatollah Khomeini understood this like no other.

When he came to power, he made sure to preserve the image of a lonely country, all alone against the rest of the world.

>> ERDBRINK: (Erdbrink and man speaking local language) ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> ERDBRINK: This man took care of Ayatollah Khomeini's financial affairs for nine years.

According to him, the leader of the revolution was a modest man.

He lived in this tiny room on a budget of less than $200 a month.

>> EBRAHIM: >> ERDBRINK: (crowd chanting) >> EBRAHIM: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: It is a reoccurring topic in many conversations: the long war between Iran and Iraq.

In Saddam Hussein, Khomeini found an enemy who united the country.

The Iranians rallied around their leader, standing shoulder to shoulder.

Men of all ages rushed to the front line.

Hundreds of thousands died in the desert.

>> ERDBRINK: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: The word "martyr" became an honorary title.

Family members of those who died were given a special status.

And even today, life-size portraits of the martyrs adorn the city walls.

♪ ♪ Here at Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery in the south of Tehran, the martyrs are buried side by side in endless numbers.

Most of them were killed during the war with Saddam Hussein.

Almost every Iranian family has buried a loved one here.

♪ ♪ If you want to understand the concept of martyrdom, you can travel to a city like Khomeini Shahr-- named after Ayatollah Khomeini-- on the day of Ashura.

Every year, Shia pilgrims mourn the violent death of Imam Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

>> ERDBRINK: >> GIRL: >> ERDBRINK: >> GIRL AND ERDBRINK: >> GIRL: >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: (man chanting on loudspeaker) ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: This is my friend Nieje.

Her father died in 1981 during the war against Iraq.

Shortly before, he and his family had returned to Iran from the United States, filled with ideals.

He wanted to help make the Islamic Revolution a success.

But when war broke out, he volunteered and was killed.

>> ERDBRINK: >> NIEJE: >> NIEJE: >> ERDBRINK AND NIEJE: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Most Westerners fail to comprehend why you would desire a martyr's death.

Do Iranians really regard suffering as an honor?

Or is it a way to make the pain of losing your loved ones more bearable?

In any case, they find it a lot easier to make sense of incomprehensible events than I do.

Most likely, also behind this dry river bed, a divine power is at work.

It's hard to believe that this once-wide river has been dry for three years now.

Where did the water go?

No one seems to know.

On the riverbank, you can hear all kinds of rumors.

"The water will come back in a week," they say, "or maybe in a few days, or no, in a month, and then it will stay forever."

>> ERDBRINK AND MAN: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: This year, 500 million trees died across the country.

Some Iranian officials-- the ones who dare-- say the drought is a much bigger problem than Iran's enemies abroad.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> MAN AND ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: (laughing) >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: The man at the carrot-washing plant expects a future filled with rain and snow, God willing, of course.

Sometimes it seems attractive to put your faith into the hands of a higher power.

But the flip side is that you have to be ready to sacrifice your life for it.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> ERDBRINK: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Since the war with Saddam Hussein, the religious leaders label every conflict across the border as "a holy war."

For a long time, Iran denied sending troops into Syria and Iraq.

Not any longer.

In 2017, the Supreme Leader appears in person at the funeral of the beheaded martyr to console the widow and his two-year-old son.

>> KHAMENEI: (camera flashes snapping) >> ERDBRINK: But not all Iranians share those feelings.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: I've never been able to track down one of the volunteers fighting across the borders.

Then I discover one, who has been posting messages on Instagram.

(rifle firing) By his account, by 2017, he'd been fighting in Syria and Iraq seven times.

(gunfire playing on phone) >> ERDBRINK: (explosion) (men in video shouting) >> ERDBRINK: You won't hear Mojtaba talking about expanding Iranian influence into the region.

According to him, he was only there to protect the holy Shia shrines.

And of course to clean up ISIS.

>> MOJTABA: >> ERDBRINK: >> MOJTABA'S WIFE AND MOJTABA: (gunfire rattling) >> MOJTABA'S WIFE: >> ERDBRINK: >> MOJTABA'S WIFE: ♪ ♪ >> MOJTABA: >> MOJTABA'S WIFE: >> ERDBRINK: I don't know what to think of Mojtaba.

It seems as if he can't wait to become a martyr himself.

I follow him on Instagram.

One of his posts is a video of a young wounded man, chosen by God to die as a martyr with a smile on his face.

Then a last message: Mojtaba left his family again to fight one more holy battle.

(train rumbling) I take the train back to Isfahan and find a seat in an empty compartment.

For a few hours, I enjoy the sight of the impressive mountains.

As the train descends into the desert, I notice some excitement amongst the fellow passengers.

It seems a miracle has happened.

According to them, the water has come back to the River of Life in Isfahan.

(Iranian pop song playing) For a while, things were back to normal.

Nobody seem to wonder how this could happen or if the water would stay.

(pop song continues) (pop song stops) Three weeks later, the water was gone again.

♪ ♪ (glass clinking) (Erdbrink speaking, recorded): (glass clinking) >> MAN: (man speaks, group repeats): >> MIRZA AND GROUP: >> SAMIN: >> ERDBRINK: In the Islamic Republic, alcohol was banned from the beginning.

If you drank, you were flogged.

That was the traditional solution to the problem.

It didn't work, of course.

The real solution came from overseas-- an American concept dating back to 1935.

>> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> MAN: >> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> MIRZA AND MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK AND MAN 2: >> MAN 3: >> ERDBRINK: (laughing) >> ERDBRINK: (group members laughing) >> ERDBRINK: ♪ ♪ If you want to live here in the Islamic Republic, you have to stick to the rules.

But those rules are never completely clear.

So it's often a matter of interpretation by the law enforcement officers on duty.

Somayeh had bad luck this morning.

She sent me a message that she was stopped by the morality police.

>> SOMAYEH: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: It's a dilemma facing women in Iran.

It's okay to be beautiful, but you're not supposed to show off your beauty in public.

All you're allowed to show is your face.

Maybe that's the reason why Elnaz Golrokh is so famous in Iran.

She's a makeup artist with more than 1.3 million followers on Instagram.

>> GOLROKH: >> ERDBRINK: >> GOLROKH: >> ERDBRINK AND GOLROKH: >> ERDBRINK AND GOLROKH: >> ERDBRINK: >> GOLROKH: >> ERDBRINK AND WOMAN: ♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: If owning a new car is what it takes for a man, then I'm sorted.

All that women have are their facial expressions.

In Iranian cinema, this is taken to extremes.

There, you would never see men and women hugging or kissing.

Because there are so few foreigners in Iran, I was once asked to act in a movie.

I played the part of a man who is released from prison after a four-month sentence and finally gets to see his loved one again.

And all that yearning, desire, and all the love he missed out on has to be expressed through the eyes only.

Nothing else is allowed.

Well, this is the result.

Hi.

>> ERDBRINK: Well, no Oscar for that.

The lead role was played by Mahnaz Afshar.

>> MAN: >> ERDBRINK: She's the biggest star in Iranian cinema.

And burning love stories are her specialty.

>> ERDBRINK: It's tricky, because the whole film is about love.

Mahnaz is the queen of looks.

She can tell you with one look that she loves you.

And not only her co-star, but the entire audience.

That's why Mahnaz is in such high demand.

(Afshar speaking under music) >> ERDBRINK: To me, it seems as if they're making do.

But in Iran, it's all we've got.

It's almost as if the thick glass partition that is there to safeguard the physical distance between men and women on the set continues out there in the real world.

Iran is a country with a lot of rules, which means that a lot of fun things are actually banned here under Islamic law.

But that of course doesn't mean that fun things don't happen in Iran.

(loud bass playing in distance) Listen here for instance.

Something is happening here.

Of course, I know what is happening here; my friend Sooni is giving a Zumba class.

Inside, women are dancing, they're wearing sports clothes.

And these are all things that we are not allowed to film.

Not only foreign journalists are not allowed to film, no one is technically allowed to film those.

This is another gray area: exercise is allowed here, also for women.

But when it looks like jumping or dancing-- like Zumba-- it suddenly isn't anymore.

Where do they draw the line?

>> What do you think?

>> Pretty cool.

>> Yes, it is.

>> ERDBRINK: With elastic?

>> (laughs): Yeah.

>> ERDBRINK: The question is, can I tell Sooni's story about starting a Zumba business without getting her into trouble?

(dance music playing) Look, these are American women doing Zumba.

But this is nothing compared to the explosive energy that Sooni brings into this exercise.

But am I allowed to broadcast that?

>> ERDBRINK: (Sooni speaking, laughing): >> ERDBRINK: >> SOONI: >> ERDBRINK: >> That's your problem, actually.

I'm not making movies.

>> ERDBRINK: My problem is that I want to show something you can't show.

We can't show this.

It will likely be considered offensive.

A man and a woman together is probably out of the question.

Just me, a man alone, that is allowed.

And I even think that women are allowed to watch me.

(dance music playing) I decide to ask Ramin, my friend and colleague, to call an expert-- a cleric he knows, a mullah.

He should know what is and isn't allowed.

>> MAN (on phone): >> MAN (on phone): >> MAN (on phone): >> MAN (on phone): >> RAMIN: So if you guarantee that this dance or sport dancing, is only seen by the female population.

>> ERDBRINK: Yeah, hello!

We're already men.

>> No, we are just committing sin.

We are committing sin, I don't know great one or a small one, but it is sin, and he said, this gentleman, clergyman, well-versed clergyman, he says that, "I'm not decision maker.

You should call the censor man."

But to avoid the risk and to avoid putting this lady-- I mean, avoiding trouble for her-- so it's better to blur it.

>> ERDBRINK: But that means no one will be able to see it.

>> But you can see the movement, or you can imagine, visualize, fantasize, whatever.

Imagination is a good place!

(dance music playing) >> ERDBRINK: So the cleric doesn't know exactly, either.

His advice is, "Blur her."

But what exactly should I blur?

Only the body parts that make the Iranian man feel uneasy?

Or her whole body?

Or, to be sure, everything?

Nobody can give me a definite answer.

Perhaps it seems childish to go on about this.

But this is an Islamic republic.

Your personal freedom and space are determined by the state, which explains its authority by invoking the will of God.

Messing with that is a risky business, both for men and women.

>> ERDBRINK AND SOMAYEH: (Erdbrink imitating fanfare) >> ERDBRINK: Wow.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: After 17 years of living in Iran, I still struggle with how the state interferes in your private life.

When I said that to a mullah once, he said, "Don't think that climbing a mountain "brings you closer to God.

God will come to you if He deems it necessary."

Maybe that's the problem.

Because God can't be everywhere at the same time.

For everyday matters, we must rely on His spokespersons on Earth.

In this case, that's Supreme Leader Khamenei.

And under him is an army of officials.

So if I want to know if I can film Sooni without getting her into trouble, I should pay a visit to this man.

He is the TV censor.

>> ERDBRINK AND MAN: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: (dance music playing) >> ERDBRINK: Finally, some clarity.

This rule I understand.

Western viewers can see this, but it will never be shown in Iran.

(dance music continues) ♪ ♪ The different explanations of the rules by the Supreme Leader's intermediaries are reason for protest from all sides.

Not only from the young, modern Iranians, but even from conservatives, like my religious friend Nieje.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: I happen to know somebody with a pair of those male hands.

And it's not surprising Nieje finds it difficult to deal with the way he views women.

>> AHMADABADI: >> AHMADABADI: >> ERDBRINK: Maybe Mister Big Mouth will succeed in keeping his wife in the kitchen.

But married to someone else, he would have a far more difficult time.

Nieje, for instance, is not willing to let anyone tell her what to think.

♪ ♪ >> ERDBRINK: Those conversations were in 2015, when the future looked almost promising.

People seemed less afraid to express their opinions.

And with the sanctions lifted, they hoped the country would finally open up to the rest of the world.

In short, life could only become better.

Still, not everybody shared that optimistic vision.

>> ERDBRINK AND SOMAYEH: >> ERDBRINK: >> ERDBRINK: >> SOMAYEH: ♪ ♪ >> Next time, in part two of "Our Man in Tehran."

>> MAN: >> It's three years later.

>> In this country especially, if you live with fear, you're done.

(women screaming): >> As change comes to the country... >> Cash is gonna buy it.

I love Iran!

♪ ♪ >> ...the hardliners push back.

♪ ♪ >> While some Iranians dream of America... >> MAN: >> ...others can't forget Iran.

>> MAN: >> It's a map of Iran.

>> ERDBRINK: Get back in the car.

>> But nevertheless, life goes on.

>> ERDBRINK: We're gonna make baby.

>> Why are you...?

(machine gun firing) >> MAN: (pop song playing) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> For more on this and other "Frontline" programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline.

"Frontline's" "Our Man in Tehran" is available on DVD.

To order, visit shop.pbs.org, or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

"Frontline" is also available for download on iTunes.

♪ ♪