Is someone pushing Iran as a tourist destination? Why?

No one with any sense, sure, but Mrs. Wolves sent me an email the other day with several Iran tourism links suggesting that Cpl. Wolves could take Marrying Into Wolves on "the honeymoon of her dreams and beyond" in Iran. Mrs. Wolves was kidding, but what the fuck is wrong with these people?

First we have The Washington Post, with their recent story explaining why "Now is the perfect time for a vacation to Iran (sort of)." The Post writer is commenting on an article in The Atlantic that points out that places with high inflation make good tourist destinations, at least as regards the cost to at U.S. tourist. As The Post notes,

High inflation can allow the budget traveler to live like royalty, provided that he or she has plenty of hard currency from a stabler economy; say, for example, U.S. dollars. But that's only if you don't mind conflict tourism of the economic-warfare sort.

That's right, the only problem with a vacation to Iran that the writer for The Post could find was that it is "conflict tourism of the economic-warfare sort, " saying the trip '[c]ould make for a great vacation, if you've got the stomach for it." Wouldn't want to feel bad for exploiting Third World people by providing them with the valuable, appreciating hard currency they so desperately want.

Alas, the Post guy and the guy from The Atlantic he is citing are not alone in their stupidity. A website I've never heard of has put out an article that goes even further, putting forth the argument for "Why Every American Should Take Their Next Vacation in Iran." Not enough to advocate taking advantage of great exchange rates somewhere, now we should all take our vacation in Iran specifically. And you won't believe the first (and, as near as I can tell, primary) reason we should all take an Iranian vacation:

Let's start with its poetry. Hamid Dabashi, a professor of Iranian studies at Columbia University wrote, "If jazz is the cadence of American culture …Persian poetry is the pulse of Iranian culture, the rhyme and rhythm of its collective memory."
On the streets of Tehran, beggars hold small colored envelopes that contain poems by Hafez — the classic medieval Persian poet — fanned out like a deck of cards.
For a small price, pedestrians select one of the envelopes at random to uncover the poem hidden within, which they consider more revealing than the lines that thread a palm or the dregs of an emptied cup of coffee. The practice is called Fal-e Hafez, or "The Fortune of Hafez," and extends into the household, where families keep ornate hardbound copies of the Divan-e Hafez -- a collection of Hafez’s poetry -- alongside their copies of the Koran.

Excuse me for not being sold. This is seriously your first reason everyone should take their next vacation in Iran instead of Hawaii?

A popular travel website likewise touts trips to Iran, with pictures of nice hotels and tourist destinations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. I'm sure it's all legit and a vacation to Iran would be culturally rewarding, relatively inexpensive because of Iran's inflation and just an all-around blast.

Weird how the U.S. State Department is less encouraging in a warning that tripadvisor.com actually put at the top of its page that touts tourism to Iran:

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to Iran. Dual national Iranian-American citizens may encounter difficulty in departing Iran. U.S. citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and carefully consider nonessential travel. ...

Couldn't be too bad, right? I'm sure it isn't, unless you read the May 22, 2014 travel warning from the State Department:

Some elements in Iran remain hostile to the United States. As a result, U.S. citizens may be subject to harassment or arrest while traveling or residing in Iran. Since 2009, Iranian authorities have prevented the departure, in some cases for several months, of a number of Iranian-American citizens, including journalists and academics, who traveled to Iran for personal or professional reasons. Iranian authorities also have unjustly detained or imprisoned U.S. citizens on various charges, including espionage and posing a threat to national security. U.S. citizens of Iranian origin should consider the risk of being targeted by authorities before planning travel to Iran. Iranian authorities deny the U.S. Interests Section in Tehran access to imprisoned dual national Iranian-American citizens because Iranian authorities consider them to be solely Iranian citizens; access to U.S. citizens without dual nationality is often denied as well.
The Iranian government continues to repress some minority religious and ethnic groups, including Christians, Baha'i, Arabs, Kurds, Azeris, and others. Consequently, some areas within the country where these minorities reside, including the Baluchistan border area near Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Kurdish northwest of the country, and areas near the Iraqi border, remain unsafe. Iranian authorities have detained and harassed U.S. citizens of Iranian origin. Former Muslims who have converted to other religions, religious activists, and persons who encourage Muslims to convert are subject to arrest and prosecution.

So what could go wrong?  Ask this guy:

Amir Hekmati, a US citizen accused of espionage and jailed in Iran, has said his televised confession was forced and asserted that he is in fact being held hostage for use in a prisoner exchange and mistreated.
In a letter smuggled out of jail and obtained by the Guardian, the 29-year-old former US marine, who was arrested in Tehran two years ago for his alleged links to the CIA, said his confession aired on Iranian state television was made under duress and was used to implicate him in trial.

He's nowhere near the only one, and you don't have to be Iranian-American to have this kind of stuff happen to you. So why the hell would an American take a vacation to Iran? More important, why would American media outlets be promoting such trips?