The immodest Rich Kids of Tehran

You may have heard about the Rich Kids of Instagram, an infamous group of ultra-wealthy youth who post pictures of the fabulous cars, glamorous yachts, and watches their parents have purchased for them. Now it turns out there’s new competition from the Middle East: the Rich Kids of Tehran Instagram account, which showcases the ostentatious lifestyle of the Islamic Republic’s elite youth.

Launched in September, the account shows young, beautiful and happy Iranians showing off their fast automobiles, expensive timepieces, designer apparel, mansions and fine dining experiences in expensive restaurants. There are no yachts, but a lot of pool party pictures and many miniskirts and bikinis.

Yes, miniskirts and bikinis. Iranian law mandates modest garb in public, including head coverings for women, but does not regulate dress in private.

The page has garnered media attention recently, mostly from Middle-Eastern based news websites, and, of this writing, had more than 31,000 followers and was growing rapidly.

One administrator of the account wrote on Sunday that “the page is growing fast. We didn’t expect it to get so big… I would like to inform everyone not to take the page too seriously, we are not trying to promote anything. We created the page for fun, for young people interested in luxury pages.”

“However now it is a different story” the admin wrote, and asked for viewers to “please understand us. Every country of the world has the wealthy and the poor. I know it can be emotionally draining for some people that might not have such lives as the pictures we portray but you don’t need to follow us. We are just young people just doing something for fun don’t take everything seriously people.”

It is notable that these young Iranians appear to be flaunting their wealthy and obviously-Western-influenced lifestyle to the world without fear of repercussions from Iran’s government, which is known to crack down on citizens engaging in what the regime deems subversive activities. Recently, seven Iranians were sentenced to prison sentences (since suspended) for uploading a video of themselves dancing to Pharell’s music video “Happy.”

It seems the Rich Kids of Tehran known they can get away with it, at least for now. “Everyone knows these guys. Most of them have fathers who are untouchable. If they get in trouble it will disappear. Others are not so lucky,” a hi-tech worker in Tehran told UK news source The Times.

Read more: The immodest Rich Kids of Tehran | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-immodest-rich-kids-of-tehran/#ixzz3FULgUr9T
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