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American Louise Firouz made Iran her home half a century ago. Now 75, she runs a stud farm in the remote northeast and has watched the turbulent transformation of her adopted country from United States-ally to arch foe.
She moved to Tehran in the 1950s to marry a young Iranian aristocrat, but the family's privileged existence changed dramatically with Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution followed by the deprivations of its eight-year war with neighbouring Iraq.
Firouz faced financial hardship and even spent time in jail, but won fame in the equestrian world for her work in rescuing an ancient breed from extinction.
One of few Americans still in Iran, the outspoken woman is no friend of US policy in the Middle East and says any attack over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme would be disastrous for the region.
Her Western friends may think she is crazy to live in the middle of nowhere in a country bitterly opposed to the US, but Firouz says she has no regrets and would not leave voluntarily. "I stopped thinking of myself as an American a long time ago. I'd be much more afraid living alone like this in America. I miss a lot of people but I don't miss their lifestyle."
Boasting a treasure trove of memories, she entertains guests with stories from a rich and varied life.
With her striking blue eyes and quick wit, Firouz chuckles as she recalls how she had to abandon her car - and later present the keys to her husband - when bullets flew outside the US Embassy in Tehran shortly before the 1979 hostage-taking that still sours relations between the two foes.
Then there was the Iraqi missile engine that crashed through the roof of the family's house in the capital during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
From her pre-revolution days, she brings to life the prominent guests she and her husband knew and used to entertain. But all that came to a sudden end when the US-backed shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was toppled in the revolution almost 30 years ago.
Viewed suspiciously by Iran's new Islamic rulers because of their family name, she was imprisoned for three weeks while her husband Narcy was jailed for three months.
Narcy's brother was sentenced to death but ended up serving six years in jail. Some relatives saw their property confiscated and fled Iran. Other people they knew were executed.
Firouz, who raised three children, said she was forced to sell her jewellery and silver to stay afloat.
"We had nothing. We really did not have much to eat in those days. We were hungry all the time." But, she added, "it makes you young. How many people do you know who managed to live two lifetimes in one?"
The family gradually rebuilt their life and set up the farm, near an ethnic Turkmen village, where she now lives.
A widow since 1994, her closest daily companions are her five dogs, 45 horses and the Turkmen villagers working on her farm.
To make ends meet, she takes groups of thrill-seeking Western tourists on 10-day riding treks in the distant mountains, even though a broken arm slows her down somewhat. Her doctor told her she was too old to ride, but she retorted: "I'm not too old to ride. I'm too old to fall off."
Born on a Virginia farm, she took her passion for horses with her to Iran where she established a riding school, helped save the native Caspian breed and now rears Turkoman horses.
She decided to leave the US when companies tried to lure her and other students with generous pension schemes: "I was appalled. Now of course I don't have a retirement plan but I've had a very good time."
- REUTERS
