Can a man shake hands with an Iranian woman?
I have been working in Iran for 2 years till now, and I feel that the actual situation in Iran is very different from the outside speculation. It is true that Iran was very tightly regulated a decade or so ago, but the human desire for freedom, including the desire for love, is something that no system can bind. Nowadays, Iran is actually very open, although women are still required to wear the hijab, but many of them are just a formality, the flowery hijab has become a beautiful decoration instead, and they are no longer wrapped up as tightly as they used to be, and many women just hang the hijab on the back of their head in a bun. Regarding the handshake, as long as it's no longer in a particularly public place like a square or a street for example, you can see young people holding hands everywhere inside a park, and they are even more boldly dressed in private parties (almost the same as private parties in Europe and the US), and men and women are also hugging and dancing together. I hope my answer can improve your opinion about Iran a little bit. Thank you!