When you walk down the street you see a different side of things. people are proud; the culture is vibrant. people have a lot to say. anthony: jason rezaian is the washington post correspondent for iran. yeganeh, his wife and a fellow journalist, works for the uae-based newspaper the national. jason is iranian-american. yeganeh is a full iranian citizen. this is their city, tehran. the official attitude towards fun in general seems to be ever shifting. how is fun even a good idea? there s a lot of security, a lot of rules. a lot of people in place to make sure you do the right thing, not do the wrong thing. but a lot of push and pull. a lot of give and take. when i first started coming here, you wouldn t hear pop music in a, in a restaurant, or a anthony: right. yeganeh: it s everywhere now. jason: now it s everywhere. yeganeh: we have police, they
Very much, actually. anthony: despite the hopeful nature of our conversation, six weeks after the filming of this episode, jason and yeganeh were mysterious arrested and detained by the police. sadly, in iran, this sort of thing is not an isolated incident.
On one hand, prevailing conservative attitudes demand certain things. on the other hand, iranian women are famously assertive, opinionated. it s a striking difference from almost everywhere else in the region. anthony: so why are we so friendly with the saudis again? jason: that s a great question. it s a really good question. yeganeh: i m happy that you asked the question. anthony: do you like it? you re happy here? jason: look, i m at a point now, after five years, where, uh, i miss certain things about home. i miss my buddies. i miss, uh, burritos. i miss having certain beverages with my buddies and burritos, and certain types of establishments. um, but i love it. i love it, and i hate it. you know? but, it s home. it s become home. anthony: are you optimistic about the future? yeganeh: yeah. especially if this nuclear deal finally happens, um, yeah.
Guest likes their food. anthony: mmm! maeimeh: this call it fesenjan. anthony: a stew of fried chicken, onion, ground walnuts, pomegranate, and tomato paste. anthony: and this fruit, there s some kind of fruit? maeimeh: yes. there is a dried apricot inside this as well. anthony: delicious! so good! bijan: needed around 24 hours time. anthony: these are very sophisticated, very time-consuming dishes to prepare. always from scratch, and always in excess of what you could possibly need. you tend to kill your guests with kindness around here. maeimeh: tilapia. that fish is from the south of iran. anthony: from the persian gulf? bijan: persian gulf. maeimeh: yes. and this one is from north. we call it mahi-ye halva. anthony: maybe if i could try some, uh yes, thank you. maeimeh: of course. and that one is gheimeh. we made it with beans, meat. anthony: so good. mmm. fantastic food. bijan: man and wife, both of them working.
[ laughter ] anthony: after 10 weeks, yeganeh was finally released. after 16 months he was convicted and sentenced to prison. group: one, two, three. anthony: all right. thank you guys. man: thank you too. anthony: we ll see you. group: thank you, tony.