Probably every Iranian has heard this NON FAMILIAR question OUT of Iran ! It is very rare to hear such a thing in Iran. I mean, if I translate this question word to word to Persian language, then the answer might be yes or no as the person might have come from
Fars province or not and no matter what the answer is, there is a big misunderstanding for both the one who asks or the one who answers. Because the one who answerers has thought if the question was that he was from a special province in Iran which had nothing to do with Persian being but we know that the one who asked meant something totally different !!!!
In Iranians daily conversations, you might hear people asking where you are from in Iran ( probably as you hear it inside Iran and you are talking in Persian and we don't so many immigrants in Iran, the question means where in Iran you are from which has nothing to do with your ethnicity but the place you come from ), but it would never mean that which tribe you are from ? Actually people don't belong to tribes back there or at least most of them but provinces or cities.
As you can see in world map, Iran is like a bridge which connects east and west. From long ago this land has been the cradle of the old Silk road from which used to start from China to Europe and Africa. This cradle was always a good place for new people from all around the world to come and settle down for commerce or lifetime. That's why we have nearly every type of people in Iran. From blonde hairs to light brown, dark brown and Black at the end, we even have BLACK Iranians who might be more Iranian than me who is a white with black hair. IN ONE WORD, WE ARE MIXED !!! Ethnicity which can connect you to a tribe is dead back there cause of mass mixture between different people. We can always claim that we have roots to old Iranians but I, as an Iranian have no proof to show that I have pure Persian, Median or Parthian( Different Iranian tribes who migrated to Iran more than 3000 years ago ) blood !!! Even claiming that I am pure Persian can be a very big joke! Who knows whose grandmother were not forced to get married to a Greek, Mongol, Turk or other invaders !!! As Iran was a bridge and most of our enemies would like to control this bridge.
Being a Persian is a kind of pride for all the people who live in Iran and call themselves Iranian. It is not just for the ones who speak Persian or something but for all the people in that piece of land and the pride is for all Iranians. Even from the old days we used to call our selves Iranians not Persians ( The Greek were calling us Persians ) or Iranian kingdom not Persian kingdom and it totally is against what Greek called us and contain all of the people who live in Iran. Iran in word means The land which belongs to Aryans ( Indo Europeans ). This name exactly includes KURDS !!! Because actually they were one of the three main Aryan tribes ( Medians ) and they were even the first tribe who created the first Iranian empire in worlds history under the name of Median Kingdom, which afterwards with some changes in the kings became huge Persian empire ( as Greeks called it that ) and it was nonsense because even the founder of this huge kingdom, "Cyrus the great" was a mixed born child from both tribes ( Medians ( Kurds ) & Persians ) !!!
With all the problems that we have inside Iran, we should just take care of one thing and it is that nothing should break up what our ancestors dealed together to keep this land as one unit under Iran name.
Iran should stay Iran, no matter what happens ...
As our old poet said what he had heard from his ancestors :
IF THERE IS NO IRAN, BETTER NOT TO LIVE ( 935. A.D. )
