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Our latest Iran Chat is with comedian and actor,\xa0Maz Jobrani. \xa0A founding member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, his comedy covers a wide-range of issues, but often focuses on race and the ways that Middle Easterners are misunderstood in the U.S. \xa0He performs stand-up live around the world and recently published a book about his experiences,\xa0\xa0I'm Not a Terrorist But I've Played One On TV.\xa0\xa0He also co-wrote, produced and starred as the title character in the award-winning indie comedy film,\xa0Jimmy Vestvood - Amerikan Hero.\xa0\xa0Maz Jobrani regularly guest stars on popular television shows and appears as a panelist on NPR's\xa0Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.\xa0\xa0You can find more about Maz, including upcoming tour dates, on his website\xa0mazjobrani.com, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter\xa0@Mazjobrani.

Some highlights of our conversation:

On Actors taking Terrorist Roles

"It\u2019s a tough position to be in.\xa0 When you\u2019re of Middle Eastern descent, that\u2019s the kind of part you\u2019re going to see a lot of. \xa0I wanted to work, and wanted to build my resume, so I accepted those parts\u2026 but I quickly realized I didn\u2019t like playing [them] so I told my agent, \u201cNo more terrorist parts.\u201d... \xa0That was 15, 16 years ago and I\u2019ve been able to continue to act without them.\xa0There are other parts where I\u2019ve had to wear a turban or play the owner of a falafel store or a cab driver,\xa0but I\u2019m not as upset about those, because when I\u2019m in NYC I see a lot of Middle Eastern cab drivers, and when I'm in LA the falafel shop owner is a Lebanese guy. \xa0So I don't mind playing those parts. \xa0Terrorist parts are what was really upsetting me because I feel it is a minority of the people from that part of the world that are terrorists, and yet if you look at the percentage of parts that are available that are terrorists, it would be a majority."

On the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour

"We got the title [for the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour] from George Bush\u2019s speech where he put Iran, Iraq and North Korea into an \u201cAxis of Evil\u201d and we decided to lampoon that title by putting the comedy tour name behind it\u2026\xa0 Eventually we were able to sell that show as a comedy special on Comedy Central.\xa0 We got a lot of press; a lot of attention...\xa0\xa0It was the first time you had all these Middle Easterners on a TV show where we didn\u2019t all get killed.

We toured from 2005 until the end of 2007 and then I started touring solo.\xa0 When you start performing solo you start doing an hour, so I had to come up with more material.. and that\u2019s where my act [grew]. \xa0I tell people nowadays I talk about political issues, social issues and my kids.\u201d

On using stereotypes in comedy

"On stage you talk about your experiences.\xa0 A lot of my material comes from real life so if I\u2019m talking about something that may seem stereotypical it is probably something that I experienced.\xa0 For example, here is an innocuous stereotype: \u201cIranians love Mercedes Benz.\u201d\xa0 A lot of Iranians I know have had Mercedes Benz\u2019s, including my mom now, and my dad when I was younger. \xa0So, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a bad thing; it\u2019s coming from your reality. So I think it\u2019s okay to talk about that."

"When I talk to audience members I try to do material where we\u2019re laughing together, I\u2019m laughing with you;\xa0 I\u2019m never laughing at you...\xa0I think there are certain stereotypes you can tap into and have fun with, but I try never to make it a demeaning thing. \xa0I try never to be someone who says I am better than you.

That\u2019s another stereotype. I see a lot of Iranians who feel they are better than their Arab neighbors for whatever reason. And I won\u2019t say all Iranians. But there are some Iranians that are like this,\xa0and that bothers me... \xa0I feel it\u2019s okay to call people out on that.\xa0You can\u2019t just take a whole group of people and say we\u2019re better than that group of people.\xa0 Because you\u2019re not." \xa0

On going to Iran

"I\u2019ve basically performed in the Middle East in seven countries, but never in Iran. There are two reasons. Number one, I\u2019ve done jokes that make fun of the leadership, so I don\u2019t want to go there and have someone put me in Evin prison because they call me a spy, which seems the modus operandi these days of part of the regime.\xa0 So I wouldn\u2019t want to risk that.

And then the second reason I think that I haven\u2019t been able to perform in Iran is because when I perform, I do shows in English. And you need to find an audience that speaks English well enough to get the jokes\u2026 In Iran I know there are a lot of people who speak English well, but the question is, are there enough to do a show in front of 1000 people who are going to come and get your jokes.\xa0 And I think nowadays there probably are enough. But you still need to find a promoter to get those people together.\xa0 And then the question becomes in Iran, are you allowed to do a public show like that or are you going to have to be underground?\xa0 So yeah it does sadden me.

I would love to visit Iran. I would love to see Iran; I would like to take my kids to Iran to experience it. \xa0I know Iran has a lot of beauty, and it\u2019s a shame I can\u2019t go right now because of the current political state of affairs."

On Iran\u2019s Image

"For the longest time Iran has been touted as Public Enemy No. 1 or 2. \xa0It\u2019s always been up there, no matter what administration....\xa0But if people open their eyes, they will see Iran has a lot else that it offers.\xa0 Iranian cinema is amazing, Iranian artists.\xa0 Athletes.\xa0 So I think it is kind of like what we had with the Soviet Union; sports and arts can bring us together."

"Anthony Bourdain had a good Parts Unknown\xa0in Iran, which I think showed a good side of Iran; his show revolves around food.\xa0 But the question is, does the greater American population see that or no?\xa0 I feel like a lot of people probably see this, but then you get a candidate like Trump running for president and all of his followers coming out and yelling anti-Iranian and anti-Muslim stuff and you go, \u201cWow - there are a lot of people who aren\u2019t opening their eyes and seeing these programs or don\u2019t have friends from Iran or the Middle East.\u201d \u2026 So I think we could use as much help as we can get. Media, yes.\xa0 Educators, yes.\xa0 Social media outreach.\xa0 Even Iranian restaurants.\xa0 If you\u2019re able to get people to come to your Iranian restaurant in the middle of Memphis, Tennessee, you\u2019re doing a great job of closing the gap and bringing peace to the world."

On Trump

"The thing with Trump is that I thought we lived in a country where there was more tolerance, and once Trump came out it feels like he made it okay for every racist to come out and spew their ideas and express their racism.\xa0 It is scary in a way that these people exist. \xa0And I really feel that if there was a magic wand or a way to implement a program where you took all these people and got them on planes and flew them to Iran or flew them to one of the Arab countries\u2026 just to go visit.. a lot of them would come back and go \u201cwow that was not at all what I expected,\u201d and it\u2019s unfortunate that isn\u2019t going to happen.\xa0 So many are caught up in their patriotism it\u2019s blinded them.\xa0 I think we\u2019re at a new level of Anti-Muslim sentiment; Anti-Iranian sentiment...\xa0The Trump candidacy has definitely added fuel to the flame."