At first glance, browsing through Instagram photos, you’d not think much of it: selfies, house parties, luxury European cars, attractive guys and girls dressed to the nines. With a closer look, you might notice the occasional headscarf and the script on the license plates of cars. At that point you would probably assume you’re looking at a collection of photos belonging to the wealthy in a Gulf country in the Middle East — the United Arab Emirates, perhaps? You’ve got the region right, but ethnically, you’re not even close. Far to the east and across the Persian Gulf it lies: the Islamic Republic of Iran.

You’re browsing the Instagram account documenting the lives of the sons and daughters of an elite class of Iranians, Tehran’s one-percenters. They live in a country that until recently was stereotyped in the media as a place ruled by mullahs and populated by Muslim extremists, where women don black chadors and people chant "Death to America" 365 days a year. The list of stereotypes was never-ending until stories of sex, drugs and alcohol among the country’s elite came to light — some now call it the “Erotic Republic” of Iran.

While some of the locations of the @richkidsoftehran images are questionable — shot at house parties — the majority are recognizable to the average Iranian as the Islamic Republic because of the Iranian-brand fruit juices used as chasers for booze labels such as Grey Goose, Jack Daniel’s, Johnny Walker Blue Label and Chivas Regal. One familiar with the country can easily identify the Tehran skyline and the high rises in the lavish Fereshteh and Elahieh areas, the prolific Roman columns in the architecture of Iran’s houses and vacation villas, as well as the Iranian license plates on the luxury cars that have become common in upper Tehran.

If that’s not believable, The Economist reported that Porsche “sold more cars in Tehran in 2011 than in any other city in the Middle East.” There are even photos in Divan, an upscale traditional Iranian restaurant located on the capital’s Rodeo Drive (Fereshteh/Fayazi Street) — one of many north Tehran streets known for "dor-dor," or cruising to hit on the opposite sex. And if those aren’t tantalizing enough, there’s — my personal favorite — a photo of a guy using a selfie stick to take a group photo as he and his buddies cruise down the street in their German cars. The preciseness of the photo is a feat on its own.