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Old fox (Persian: روباه پیر) is a term used by Iranians to describe Britain. Seyyed Ahmad Adib Pishavari used the term for the first time. The term is used several times in Iranian society, media, and newspapers.
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Background
In Persian and many other languages, fox is symbol of sly and cunning character and refers to cunning person who put you in a tricky situation. The term and its anti-British concept is used in anti-British poet for the first time by Seyyed Ahmad Adib Pishavari (1844-1930), philosopher and poet. When Amad was young, his father and relatives were killed in war between British and Afghanistan on 1857-58. He had anti-British feeling and wrote many poems by this sentiment. Pishavari always described United Kingdom by animals as old fox, ominous raven, and venomous viper in his poems. The term of old fox remains from that time. English translation of his poem is:
Many an ancient house
Was razed after you crept in
You seized lands through your fox games
You have escaped hundred of traps, like an old fox.
Appellation reasons
There are several historical reasons for Britain appellation as old fox or little Satan by Iran include: direct role in deviating Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1921 and 1953 Iranian coup d'état, subversive movement during Nationalization of Iran's oil industry, removing Revolutionaries persons after 1979 Islamic Revolution, and important role in street riots after 2009 presidential election.
In recent years
In 2011 after initiating nuclear-related sanctions against Iran by London, Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, called Britain embassy as evil embassy.
When Britain embassy reopened in 2015, Iranian media and newspapers declared and reported Return of the Fox. Hemayat daily wrote in its front page "The old fox arrived with its lights turned off", Resalat newspaper published "No-one is happy with the return of the old fox", and Kayhan daily wrote "In Iran's eyes, Britain is still the 'old fox'".