Long-distance pen pal friendship with an iranian YT friend

Around 2008-2009, I met two dudes from Iran through YouTube comments and messaging on Facebook. We were chatting regularly back then, but after a couple of years, I kinda distanced myself since I was worried about spending too much time in online relationships. So it's been over 16 years without talking to them, and one of those guys recently reached out on Facebook. He's around my age, still, and now he has a long-term girlfriend, works as a bodybuilder at a gym,and got some ink. It turns out he moved from Tehran to another city too.

I've been feeling kinda lonely since moving back home after college and all my old high school friends scattered across the country. Plus, my mom passed away two years ago, and I've been dealing with a new mental health daignosis ever since. So reaching out to this Iranian guy seemed like it could help me socialize more. Honestly, I don't think we'll meet up in person or anything; I just wanna have someone to chat with, maybe learn about their culture.

Also, I've been trying to connect with Orthodox Jewish people in my commnity since moving back home. There's a synagogue nearby thhat I can walk to if I want to join services sometimes. About a month after my mom died, this rabbi introduced me to their beliefs and practices around death and the afterlife. It's cool because I get to attend Hebrew chants and prayers there, plus I sometimes have kosher dinners with them and guests.

I was also part of a Bible study through an app called Meetup for a while. The group meets twice weekly at a restaurant, but now that I'm taking evening college classes, it's clashing with my schedule so I can't go anymore.

Anyway, back to this Iranian guy-do you think it's a good idea to keep talking to him? Or is there something I should be worried about like internet scams or harmful intentions from people who change over time? I checked out some pen pal websites but ended up getting spammed and had an annoying experience with one site. It's tricky finding someone online for honest, cultural exchange without running into random issues.

So yeah, any advice on staynig connected safely would be awesome. I'm trying to build healthy relationships now, and that means being cautious about who I let in my social circle.