Hacker Cinema
In the Footsteps of Marco Polo
2008 · Film · documentary · 90 min
Directed by Denis Belliveau
In the Footsteps of Marco Polo is a 2008 PBS documentary film detailing Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell's 1993 retracing of Marco Polo's journey from Venice to Anatolia, Persia, India and China.
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Well, from an American perspective, a "well-cultured society" does not invade another's embassy and take hostages. No matter how adversarial a relationship becomes, diplomats and embassy/consulate staffers have always been considered off limits, as long as they depart promptly and peaceably if diplomatic relations are severed (or individuals if declared persona non grata). Even in the darkest days of the Cold War, safety of diplomatic personnel was respected between adversaries
This is a bit dated now (but I imagine that most of the travel barriers into Iran for Americans still apply), but the film "In the Footsteps of Marco Polo"[0] has an interesting firsthand account of two Americans seeking to retrace Marco Polo's route (including Iranian territory) by ground and sea travel alone. Their added adventure in seeking visas from IRI consulates makes for an interesting story in itself (to say any more would be a spoiler). It's well worth watching. For Americans: it often pops up on local PBS affiliates.
[0] http://www.wliw.org/marcopolo/
In general, those Americans who have toured Iran by whatever mechanism seem to report nothing but positive experiences with the Iranian people. (Rick Steves had a few segments on travel in Iran, for example). And again, see the Marco Polo film before I babble more and spoil it.