Old fox (Persian: روباه پیر, romanized: rubâh-e pir) is a term used by some Iranians to describe the United Kingdom.
In the context of Persian attitudes to the United Kingdom, the term was first used by the philosopher and poet Adib Pishavari (1844–1930).
[1] When Pishavari was young, his father and relatives were killed in the war between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan in 1857–58.
Pishavari often represented the United Kingdom using animal metaphors such as old fox, ominous raven, and venomous viper in his poems.
[2][5][3] When the British embassy reopened in 2015, Iranian media and newspapers declared and reported Return of the Fox.