I remember working at a prestigious Persian restaurant in Atlanta as a waiter where I would see so many Persians in Ramadan during the day and have a huge meal. The minute I say salaam to them no response back whatsoever. Regardless I love my Persian brothers and sisters
𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐟𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧
The most common Iftar items in Iran include *fresh* dates, watermelon, Persian noodle soup (Ash Reshteh), Persian Halim, bread, walnuts with cheese, greens, and fresh herbs (Sabzi). Often, tea is served with Persian Zoolbiya, Persian Halwa, and other sugary treats that one should really limit themselves from consuming. Of course, dates are a staple food, especially during Ramadan. These dishes form the foundation of Persian Iftar cuisine, while variations exist among Arab, Baluch, Turks, and other ethnic groups, with many shared elements among them.
There is a variety of dates grown in Iran, and even in northern regions of Iran (where dates usually don't grow), dates are part of some dishes, and even more so in southern Iran, which is full of palm trees from Ahwaz to Zahedan.
Dates in Iran grow in Arab regions like Ahwaz, and other southern Iranian regions like Bushehr (inhabited by Shia Persians, Shia Lurs, and Sunni Arabs) and Hormozgan (inhabited by southern Persian Sunni and Shia people, Sunni Arabs, Sunni Afro-Arab Iranians, Sunni Baluch), Kerman (majority Shia Persian with a minority Sunni Baluch population), and of course Baluchistan (majority Sunni Baluch).
The most famous Iranian dates grow in the Kerman and Baluchistan provinces and are known as Mazafati. Mazafati dates are the most commonly used fresh (Rutab) date which are exported to many countries every year. Mazafati dates are also the wettest type of date amongst others, which has a soft texture.
This beautiful aspect of Iranian culture, i.e., the preference of fresh dates over other dates at times of breaking one's fast, has its roots in the Sunnah of our beloved Messenger ﷺ.
It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to break his fast with *fresh* dates before praying. If there were no fresh dates, then with dried dates, and if there were no dried dates, then with a few sips of water. (Musnad Ahmad and Abu Dawud)
Today, the observance of fasting during Ramadan, along with the traditions surrounding the breaking of the fast, holds little to no significance among many Iranians, if not most. The ruling clerics of Iran and the Khomeinist system have severely damaged the image of Islam in Shia parts of Iran to an almost irreversible level. I believe that the worst openly Islamophobic mass propaganda machine couldn't have caused as much damage as these false claimants of Islam.
والله المستعان... يا رب.. إليك المشتكى.
However, the observance of fasting in the beautiful and sacred month of Ramadan, its aesthetics, the blessed pre-dawn meal, also known as Suhoor (Sahari in Persian), Iftar, etc., is still widely observed among Sunni Iranians, for whom Islam is inseparable from their identity..
ولله الحمد