The verb 'to love' in Persian is 'to have a friend.' 'I love you' translated literally is 'I have you as a friend,' and 'I don't like you' simply means 'I don't have you as a friend.
Shusha Guppy (2004). “The Blindfold Horse: Memories of a Persian Childhood”, p.212, Tauris Parke Paperbacks
