“You can have a secret gay life as long you don’t become an activist and start demanding rights,” a Tehran resident named Reza, who did not want his full name used, told the newspaper.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking at Columbia University in New York this week, provoked laughter in the audience when he asserted there are no homosexuals in Iran. Gays willing to talk to the Times said they were relieved by his denial since it might mean they will be left alone.

The law making homosexuality punishable by death or a lashing is no dead letter. Two teenagers were executed in 2005 in Mashad.

While Iran may be tough on homosexuality, the country is comparatively gentle toward transgender people, regarding them as sick. The government encourages sex-change operations.