Iran the Nation vs. Iran the Idea

In America, we talk about Afghanistan and Iran separately, as if they are worlds apart, when in reality they share a border.

The way we separate these two countries in our political discourse is completely dissonant. It would be like discussing New Jersey without ever mentioning New York, or visa versa. It's just absurd. Tehran Bureau has a great piece on this very subject: the Iranian-Afghan connection.

After spending several weeks in Kabul, one can hardly deny the extent of Iranian influence in Afghanistan. As a major player in the region, Iran has a vital stake in how its Afghan neighbors are governed. I paid closer attention to this after spending several days with an elite Afghan commando unit tasked with guarding a key site for high-level meetings. These commandos had been trained not only by U.S. Special Forces, but also by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the highly skilled paramilitary group accused of arming and training the Shia insurgents in Iraq.

 Should it really be a surprise that Iran has such a cultural, political, and military influence on its neighbors? We talk about Iran as if it is some esoteric concept, when really it is sitting right between the United States' two biggest current military commitments, Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a living, breathing country.
I'm reminded of a film by Iranian auteur Majid Majidi called Baran, which explores the relationship between these two countries. It's a really charming, gorgeous, and Chaplin-esque fable about a young Tehrani man who falls for an Afghan girl who works illegally in Iran disguised as a boy.