Congrats on the pen pal.
There were military personnel exchanges during that period. The US even sent training teams from the Special Forces unit I was in (I wasn't part of that deployment) to Iran.
The situation today; though, calls for prudence. Even though phone contacts may go through without adverse ramifications, that doesn't mean they aren't being monitored and recorded. Any political content you provide can be used for their domestic propaganda program. It's wise to stay away from voicing critical opinions, of us or them, while your pen pal is in Iran. Save it for when he's in the US or Canada.
We wouldn't want to see a "Tehran Chris" up there with "Hanoi Jane."
