Origins

The text of the article says: "...reputed to be from Persia (Iran)..."

Why reputed? It's a fact. The Persian cat is ubiquitous in Iran and can be seen digging garbage cans for food in city alleys and streets there everywhere. Theyre indigenous.

In Iran, the "Persian cat" is called "Gorbeh Yazdi" (since non-Persian regular breeds also exist).

My mother had one once when she was little in Shiraz. He was named "Montesquieu" by my grandpa. My grandma however threw the Cat out back into the streets because he would pee on the Persian rugs of the house.

I became friends with one myself when I was a kid in Isfahan once. I called her "khaleh fery". She was a full size beauty. And she ate one of my Turkey chicks we were raising in our backyard. But she gave birth to two lovely kittens. I tried raising them, but they had to eventually go back to the alley because my mom would not tolerate the fur balls and hair on the rugs in the house (oh history). When I moved to America, I had to leave them both to tend for themselves. One kitten got run over by a car, and the other was killed by mad kids in the street, I was told later on.

So it's not "reputed".