Tehran’s ‘Just do it’ generation makes up for lost time

By Parag Khanna
Published 5:34 AM EDT, Tue July 7, 2015
Nuts, fresh berries and other fruits are in high demand at this souk, or bazaar, after sunset when the Ramadan fast ends.
Nuts, fresh berries and other fruits are in high demand at this souk, or bazaar, after sunset when the Ramadan fast ends.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
Will Iran give up its nuclear ambitions? As its leaders try to hammer out a deal with the United States and five other leading world powers, CNN gets rare access to the Islamic state. It's the holy month of Ramadan, which means Muslims fast all day and feast at night. In Tehran, Iranians flock to markets after dark to break their fast.
Will Iran give up its nuclear ambitions? As its leaders try to hammer out a deal with the United States and five other leading world powers, CNN gets rare access to the Islamic state. It's the holy month of Ramadan, which means Muslims fast all day and feast at night. In Tehran, Iranians flock to markets after dark to break their fast.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
Market stalls heave with fresh fruit in Tehran, aiming to satisfy observant Muslims who have been fasting all day.
Market stalls heave with fresh fruit in Tehran, aiming to satisfy observant Muslims who have been fasting all day.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
While the shops are full of fruit, other Iranian industries have it harder because of decades of international sanctions. At the Modern Technic factory in Tehran, workers mold auto parts by hand or with only basic machinery.
While the shops are full of fruit, other Iranian industries have it harder because of decades of international sanctions. At the Modern Technic factory in Tehran, workers mold auto parts by hand or with only basic machinery.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
Despite its name, the Modern Technic factory is much less automated than most modern auto plants. Most of the machinery is Iranian-made or comes from Russia.
Despite its name, the Modern Technic factory is much less automated than most modern auto plants. Most of the machinery is Iranian-made or comes from Russia.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
The Modern Technic auto parts factory still uses equipment made in the Soviet Union because sanctions make it difficult to get new machinery.
The Modern Technic auto parts factory still uses equipment made in the Soviet Union because sanctions make it difficult to get new machinery.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini led Iran for a decade after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Today, Iran has a shrine to honor him in Tehran.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini led Iran for a decade after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Today, Iran has a shrine to honor him in Tehran.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
There's space for hundreds of worshippers inside the shrine to Khomeini, with copies of the Quran laid out for each of them.
There's space for hundreds of worshippers inside the shrine to Khomeini, with copies of the Quran laid out for each of them.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
The caretakers of the shrine are known as khodam.
The caretakers of the shrine are known as khodam.
Thomas Evans / CNN
The dome of the shrine over Khomeini's mausoleum. The exterior of the newly constructed dome is still under scaffolding, the final golden tiles being laid.
The dome of the shrine over Khomeini's mausoleum. The exterior of the newly constructed dome is still under scaffolding, the final golden tiles being laid.
Thomas Evans / CNN
Children play in the shrine while their mothers pray or pay their respects to the late ayatollah.
Children play in the shrine while their mothers pray or pay their respects to the late ayatollah.
Thomas Evans / CNN
The heart of the shrine is the tomb of Khomeini, who died in 1989 but is still revered by his followers.
The heart of the shrine is the tomb of Khomeini, who died in 1989 but is still revered by his followers.
Frederik Pleitgen / CNN
Look inside Iran: How ordinary people live

Editor’s Note: Parag Khanna is a senior research fellow at the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. His books include The Second World (2008) and How to Run the World (2011). The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

Tehran, Iran CNN  — 

Over the years I’ve witnessed many societies racing to catch up after decades lost to corruption or conflict, from post-Soviet Moscow to post-war Yugoslavia. In those places the symbol of success was a stolen German car. Today there is an entire global youth bulge from Lagos to Beirut to Jakarta trying to overcome the many obstacles that have held them back—and they all seem to have subconsciously arrived at the same formula for survival in an age of self-reliance: Caffeine, cash and connectivity.

Particularly since the November 2013 Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) signed with Western powers, Iran’s suppressed youth have entered a hyper-kinetic overdrive.

Parag Khanna
Parag Khanna

Nowhere is this more visible than in the country’s mega-city capital, Tehran. Ask a Tehran entrepreneur how he does business without access to the SWIFT banking network, the financial equivalent of the Internet. Or how Iranians keep up their multiple passports to travel the world despite growing restrictions on their buying into dual citizenship programs. Or how the latest gadgets wind up in the sprouting mega-malls around the city despite what U.S. President Barack Obama called the “toughest and most comprehensive sanctions.” I always got the same answer, delivered with a shrug and a smile: “We just do it.”

In a way, Iran has been a just-do-it society for decades. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran’s theocratic leadership has taken masochistic pride in its self-imposed pursuit of self-sufficiency. After India and Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests, one heard in both countries admiration for how Iran’s toughing out sanctions and building stronger indigenous industries would be their role model. Within Iran, of course, it is the government that has effectively sanctioned its own people – and the youth (two-thirds of the population is under 35) who have to work around the constraints. Spend a week in Tehran and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the post-sanctions opening has passed even though it hasn’t even really begun yet. You would have little doubt that when the time does actually come, Iran is indeed going to dominate the region – but with its brains and markets, not its nukes.

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The Azadi Tower, in Tehran, was erected in 1973 to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the first Persian empire. Iran presents a wealth of distinctive ancient and modern architecture. <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/26/travel/iran-time-for-travelers-to-return/index.html">Read the accompanying article.</a>
Anniversary tower —
The Azadi Tower, in Tehran, was erected in 1973 to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the first Persian empire. Iran presents a wealth of distinctive ancient and modern architecture. Read the accompanying article.
David Stanley
Only two bronze boots remain from a statue of Reza Shah, father of the last shah, outside the White Palace in the Saadabad Palace complex in Tehran.
Rezah Shah's boots —
Only two bronze boots remain from a statue of Reza Shah, father of the last shah, outside the White Palace in the Saadabad Palace complex in Tehran.
David Stanley
Jame Mosque in Yazd has the highest portal and minarets in Iran. The twin minarets are a hallmark of the Shia faction of Islam (Sunni mosques have only one minaret).
Minaret twins —
Jame Mosque in Yazd has the highest portal and minarets in Iran. The twin minarets are a hallmark of the Shia faction of Islam (Sunni mosques have only one minaret).
David Stanley