i think the original commenter is just reaffirming the idea presented in the meme by sharing their own conceptions of iran. this highlights how westerners generally seem to view the region.

i wouldn’t use the word mediterranean here myself but i see where they’re coming from saying that, especially with regards to cultural perception versus the real, lived culture.

westerners traditionally associate the stylings of like, Parthia or maybe the Sassanids with iran/persia. those cultures are also inextricably linked with a wider western image of the bronze age and greece. i think the more interesting part of note here is that westerners tend to conflate classical cultures as all having a general “vibe” that might be described as mediterranean, and both in the case of modern iran or greece it seems that this lasting cultural image is heavily impressed in the social consciousness