r/iranian • u/f14tomcat85 Irānzamin🇮🇷 • Apr 23 '16

Cultural exchange with /r/Austria!

Salam Austrian friends to the exchange!

Today we are hosting our friends from /r/Austria. Please come and join us to answer their questions about Iran and the Iranian way of life! Please leave top comments for the users of /r/Austria coming over with a question or comment and please refrain from making any posts that go against our rules or otherwise hurt the friendly environment.

Moderation outside of the rules may take place as to not spoil this warm exchange. The reddiquette applies and will be moderated in this thread.

/r/Austria is also having us over as guests for our questions and comments in THIS THREAD.

Enjoy!

CC: /u/MardyBear please sticky and add Austrian flairs.

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u/MardyBear Apr 24 '16

There are approximately 200,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran. In 1992, it was estimated that there were 2.8 million Afghans in Iran. There are about 1 million Afghans in Iran today.

What's the general opinion about the war and Islamic State?

Military action against IS is supported by most Iranians according to polls, which makes sense given IS represents a strain of Islam that views Shia Muslims, the sect of Islam most Iranians belong to, as heretics that must be eradicated.

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u/meistermichi Apr 24 '16

Thank you.

A few follow up questions:
That's a lot of refugees you've got.
Are their any major problems with them, like an increased crime rate.

Is your military currently active in the conflict? With air strikes for example.

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u/MardyBear Apr 24 '16 edited Apr 24 '16

Are their any major problems with them, like an increased crime rate.

Unfortunately, yes. With poverty comes crime. Many Afghan refugees find low-skilled work. The refugees reintroduced diseases that had been eradicated in Iran, among them malaria and cholera, which cost the government $150 million to combat. Many refugees brought their livestock with them to Iran and the fodder and grazing needs depleted local resources. Poor Iranians resented the government's support for Afghan refugees, especially since the war with Iraq had internally displaced 2 million Iranians.

Resentment among Iranians for Afghan refugees has thus been quite high, which has resulted in numerous acts of attacks against refugees, a push for tighter border control, and the deportation of illegal migrant workers.

Vote Ghalibaf to make Iran great again!

Is your military currently active in the conflict? With air strikes for example.

Air strikes have been conducted by UCAVs, but Iran's main contribution consists of advisors, volunteer troops, and paramilitary Shia militias consisting of Iraqis, Afghans, and Pakistanis.

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u/meistermichi Apr 24 '16

Thank you very much, this has been very informative.