We usually evaluate the policies of Western powers in the Middle East through formal discourse - diplomatic and consular reports - or through academic descriptions and travelogues. They carry stereotypes, and usually presuppose a rational analysis, implementing systematic decisions. On the other hand, we can know, mostly through private correspondence or diaries, how foreign diplomats actually behaved with local populations, whether they really entered in personal relations, and how their preconceptions influenced these interactions. In the case of Iran, I propose to examine two sets of documents from French and from British diplomats living in Iran immediately after World War I: G. Ducrocq, H. Hoppenot and his wife (diaries and private correspondence) – CJ Edmonds & CW Baxter (diaries, memoirs and correspondence). Questions I will be addressing in this paper include: Who did they meet mostly in Iran: other Europeans? Westernised elite members of Iranian society? Or people from ordinary Persian society unfamiliar with European culture? To what extent did Western expatriates display sympathy or antipathy towards Iranians? Problems of language and social manners might have limited occasions of meeting, but other factors should be examined such as aesthetic understanding, religious commitment, ignorance or curiosity for other beliefs and ways of life. Even though these diplomats were not the main decision makers, to what extent did their personal views interfere with their official activities and reports, especially in times of disagreement with the decisions of their government?