The New York Times accompanied a delegation of Americans in Tehran: The visit to Iran by the American group, which included venture capitalists and business executives from a range of industries, including real estate, health care and insurance, was organized by individual members of the Young Presidents’ Organization. Last week’s trip was the group’s third to the Islamic republic.

“There was a waiting list. The prospect of a changing Iran is very interesting,” Mr. Simon said.

At the function Thursday night, the delegates sat at tables decorated with cards marked with topics of conversation: “Real Estate,” “Diplomacy,” “Luxury” and “ICT,” for information and communications technology. The women in the group wore head scarves, as is obligatory in Iran.

“I should be at ‘ICT,’ I think,” said Mr. Lamont, whose Connecticut-based company provides video and data services to college campuses, “but I think the ‘Diplomacy’ table will be more interesting for now.”

Mr. Lamont and the others in the group arrived in Tehran last week after touring ancient sites near Shiraz, a city in the south, under the watchful eyes of government minders.

“They don’t want us to get in any sorts of trouble, or have an incident, but we have been mostly free to go around,” said Mr. Lamont, who like other members of the group was bubbling with enthusiasm over the hospitality of their Iranian hosts. [Continue reading…]