It is shown that in interaction with addressees of bigger social power, both Iranian English-language learners and Anglo-Australian students deploy more indirect refusal strategies. When refusals involved status equals though, Iranian and Australian participants' performance varied to an extent that could entail intercultural miscommunication. Focus group interviews (FGIs) disclosed that first language cultural schemas of ritual politeness and state/feeling of distance-out-of-respect highly influenced Iranian students' refusals.