Iranians value what they call ta’arruf; we might call it “refined courtesy,” but it reaches further, pervading forms of speech. Once, in the city of Mashhad, I visited an Englishman in a house that he was temporarily occupying (while the consul was away); he had invited me to do so, but I had three Iranian friends with me, and he treated us brusquely and did not even say “Goodbye,” in any language, as he shut the door. As we turned away, one of my friends renarked: “Hîch ta’arruf nadârad.”
“He has no ta’arruf,” but it is linguistically delightful; we might bring out its flavor by spelling it as “HEECH ta’aRRUF NAdorad!” and translating it more literally as “ANY courtesy NOT-has-he!”
Iranians might be saying it today of a certain American.
Iranians might be saying it today of a certain American.
My trained eye can now spot Venus a noontime. Wish we could get away from all this political gooble gobble. or have we all become one of us, one of us? Not naming names, but let’s just let’s see how the cards play out.
Love causes respect. Respect is expressed by courtesy. I think the world needs more love, then ta’arruf will follow.
Unfortunately, our (the United States’) unreliability in matters of treaties and agreements is a long-standing phenomenon that pre-dates Trump by decades if not longer. Saddam Hussein and Qaddaffi both tried giving up their WMD programs and allowing inspectors in to verify that they had nothing left, and both ended up dead with their countries in ruins. As Anthony points out, KJU just got another reminder of that with our decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement. BTW, if you read about the staggering nature of the destruction and slaughter we rained down on North Korean cities in 1950 at the start of the Korean war, it’s no wonder that they feel the need for a “shield” of some sort. It’s the only effective restraint on U.S. “freedom of action,” as our leaders like to call it.
Why does it matter what the U.S. does? How about Iran acting responsibly to lessen Mideast tensions, agreement or not? Their stated goal and strategic agenda is to ursurp the sovereignty of other nearby nations in order to wipe Israel off the map. Isn’t that a problem? The U.S., at least, doesn’t have to help bankroll such bad behavior.
What is the polite Iranian expression for “Here are 20 missiles in your lap,” Guy? https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iranian-forces-fire-rockets-at-israeli-military-in-first-direct-attack-ever-israeli-army-says/2018/05/09/62e3a526-52f7-11e8-a6d4-ca1d035642ce_story.html?utm_term=.7fef497b9563
And by the by, the Iranian “deal” cut by Obama deliberately bypassed Congress and was not constitutionally a treaty. I trust the Iranians understood exactly what they were getting from Barack – less than candor, a non-treaty, and their money back.
Iran has been in full compliance with the deal, already reversing the progress it had made toward a deliverable nuclear bomb:
“Iran also took down about 13,000 of its centrifuges, leaving just over 5,000 of its oldest-model machines in place. It ceased all enrichment at its underground facility at Fordow, which – like other Iranian nuclear sites – was put under continuous international monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA had repeatedly confirmed that that Iran was in compliance with the restriction it had agreed to in 2015.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/08/iran-deal-trump-withdraw-us-latest-news-nuclear-agreement
Another article of the same day mentioned that Iran filled its nuclear reactors with concrete.
Understandably, Iran now threatens, if the EU cannot contrive to keep the deal going without the US, to re-start all its processes toward reaching the capability of a nuclear warhead. Is this what we and Israel want?
Hey Guy,
The most difficult time I had, as a parent, was instructing my daughters to not make promises that they couldn’t keep and to say “No” in a diplomatic way to avoid disappointing (or angering) friends, relatives, or other people.
Yours, Joseph
President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal will hurt the Iranian people, and escalate the risk of war between Iran and both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump effectively told Kim Jong Un that the US can’t be trusted to abide by agreements. Iran will become more closely allied with Russia, and the US will be increasingly isolated and irrelevant in international affairs. If Trump were taking orders from President Putin, this would all make sense.
I love it that these first three excellent comments all come from unrelated people whose surnames are, or start with, BARR. Once I was in company of Terry Barr (total, four Rs) and his brother-in-law, who asked where the name Barr came from. Terry: “I think it used to be longer.” Brother-in-law: “Yes, it used to have three Rs!”
Hey Anthony B.,
The “US” didn’t make any agreement with Iran, BHO did with an executive decision with the use of taxpayer dollars. That is how Donny Carnahans Trump was able to use HIS executive decision. Are you just realizing that the “US” can’t be trusted? How about the last 2 false flags in Syria?
How can the “US” and the UK be trusted about anything when both entities created the mess in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Remember our friend, the Shah of Iran? Remember the Iraq wars? Every action has consequences.
My question has always been, where does the EU stand in all this?
Joseph K.
I trust Iranians to know that the US is more (and better) than its current president. And I trust the other signatories to keep things on an even keel until we emerge from this nightmare.
Salaam areyh Guy!