8. Insistence in Iran
It is expected that Iranians will perform Taarof, a practice of deference and respect to someone that they perceive as having a higher social class. When buying something at the market, this means that a shopkeeper may refuse payment several times, even though the custom is that he will eventually accept. The opposite is true with social invitations which are meant to be refused.
Forget Taarof, and you may find yourself walking away with “stolen” merchandise and sitting through a very uncomfortable dinner with an unprepared host.
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