Open AccessAmong the plethora of studies conducted thus far to explore the factors affecting EFL reading effectiveness, scant attention seems to be paid to the why of poor reading comprehension of most EFL learners. In this regard, the present article capitalized on qualitative research on a small scale, for the purpose of addressing the not-so-often-debated issue of unsuccessful EFL reading competency in the Iranian context. In fact, the purpose of the article was to explore the degree of Iranian EFL learners' awareness of reading comprehension strategies and their potential comprehension failure. To this end, 12 EFL university-level students were interviewed, using a researcher-developed interview questionnaire. An analysis of student data interview revealed that there is an instructional void as regards to reading strategy training in the Iranian educational settings. Ultimately, based on the findings of the study, recommendations for future investigations are discussed.