On November 24, 1975, Frank Sinatra walked onto the stage of Tehran’s Aryamehr Stadium and for one night, Iran felt like it was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the modern world. More than 20,000 people gathered as Sinatra performed My Way, Strangers in the Night, and a full concert set during the Shah’s “Festival of Arts,” a series meant to showcase Iran’s growing cultural openness. It was an era when Western musicians, filmmakers, and artists regularly visited Iran when nightlife thrived, ci