After the storming of the American embassy in Tehran upended their plan to move to the USA, the family instead migrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1979, at the time of the Iranian Revolution.

[2][3][4] In their new home, political upheaval, this time associated with the rule of the Argentine junta, forced the family to once more move continents.

This time the family moved to America, where in Miami, Mehran pursued, for a decade, her then dream of becoming a concert pianist.

There were no customers there, which I thought a bit odd at first, until I realised that the restaurant was just a front for their other dealings.”[4] At age 17, Mehran's father reports, her permanent visa for the United States was revoked for a "minor infraction".

[4] Mehran's debut novel, Pomegranate Soup (2005), is the story of three sisters who escape Iran at the time of the Revolution and eventually settle in a small town in the west of Ireland, where they open the Babylon Cafe.

Mehran used her own family's experiences when writing the novel, which includes a number of recipes and combines "Persian cooking with Irish living.

[7] Matador Pictures optioned Pomegranate Soup in 2013 with Kirsten Sheridan slated to write and direct the film.