Please quit referring to them as Persians. There is no such thing as current day Persians. that is what iranians call themselves because they are afraid of calling themselves iranian in America. Persia no longer exists.
I am polish but I don’t go around calling myself Prussian. Do you see Prussia or Persia on a current map?
Tell that to an Arab Iranian. Then run.
I dont know what they call themselves now but my friend is Iranian and she refers to herself and others like her as “Persians” I grew up with them, went to high school with them..they dont call themselves Iranian unless they just came here from Iran, they call themselves Persian
The country was called Persia until they decided to kiss up to Hitler by changing the name to Iran (which already was in use locally), to accentuate their “Aryan” origins.
Yes, they are officially Iranians, but as you say and recent years show that Western supporting Iranians would prefer to be called Persians here and abroad, in contrast to Iranians and especially not Arab.
However, I and the wife have talked with a number of Persians over the years here in our local area and they are NOT afraid to be Persian in America. They always appreciate that I call them Persians. They HATE what the radicals have done to their country and tell me that is the case of the majority in Iran.
As recent as my B/day (1/29/13) at a local resort, I talked to some Persians (easy to tell the difference between Farsi and Arabic). They had great things to say about America. But they don't understand why American has forsaken them and allow the mullahs to grow their world-killing nukes. I had no answer for them.
If that awful cult in Iran were to go away tomorrow, Iranians/Persians could become a world economic power. They are smart, aware, industrious, when not oppressed, have the resources, et al. They love Western civilization, with all our faults. Again, the dictatorship of a few. They are quite the contrast in the ME regarding Arabs and their death cult.
Last point: While sitting around the fire I asked them where their loyalties lie regarding Islam doctrine or freedom, which are non-compatible. In a nano-second they all said FREEDOM! We shook hands and had more drinks.
The name of Iran (ایران) is the Modern Persian derivative from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānā,, meaning "Land of the Aryans", first attested in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition. The term Ērān is found to refer to Iran in a 3rd century Sassanid inscription, and the Parthian inscription that accompanies it uses the Parthian term "aryān" in reference to Iranians. However historically Iran has been referred to as Persia or similar (La Perse, Persien, Perzië, etc.) by the Western world, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis (Περσίς), meaning land of the Persians. In 1935 Rezā Shāh requested that the international community should refer to the country as Iran. Opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and in 1959 both names were to be used interchangeably. Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 the official name of the country has been the "Islamic Republic of Iran".