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It’s 9 p.m. on a Sunday evening. Westwood Boulevard is quiet, the hustle and bustle of the day a distant memory. At first glance, the Naab Café – a popular hotspot with the locals – seems equally desolate. But walk through the terrace, and the air comes alive with laughter, smoke and drifts of Farsi-laden conversation. There isn’t a single non-Persian in the place. “It’s like a scene from Iran,” Anahita Aminpour says. “Or at least, how I imagine it.”


At 25 years old, Aminpour belongs to a new generation of L.A.’s Persians. Her parents, like many of those from the community, made the move from Iran to Los Angeles in the 1970s following the Islamic Revolution of Iran. L.A. is now home to around 600,000 Persians, the largest diaspora in the world. In 2010, the city of Los Angeles officially designated Westwood Boulevard as “Persian Square.” It’s also known as “Tehrangeles” on Google Maps – a portmanteau of Tehran and Los Angeles.

“I’m definitely Persian.” Aminpour says confidently.  

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