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Иран Ислямска република Иран (на персийски: ایران, [ʔiˈɾɒn]) е държава в Югозападна Азия, наричана в миналото и Персия.[2] Тя е 17-а в света по територия с площ 1 648 195 km², а населението ѝ е около 75 милиона души. Страната е смятана за регионална сила[3] и има важно геополитическо значение със своето стратегическо разположение между Близкия Изток, Централна Азия и Южна Азия и със значителните си запаси от нефт и природен газ. Столица на Иран е град Техеран, най-големият град и най-важният политически, културен и стопански център в страната. Иран е център на една от най-древните цивилизации в света.[4] Първата трайна държава на територията на днешен Иран е образуваното през 28 век пр.н.е. царство Елам. Ираноезичните мидийци създават своя империя в края на 7 век пр.н.е.[5] Те са наследени от иранската Персийска империя, елинистичната държава на Селевкидите и две последователни ирански държави - Партското и Сасанидското царство. В средата на 7 век страната е завладяна от мюсюлманите и под властта на мюсюлманските владетели персийският език и култура се разпространяват в цялото Иранско плато и отвъд него в Централна Азия. Под властта на династии, като тези на Тахиридите, Сафаридите, Саманидите и Буидите Иран се обособява като самостоятелна държава в рамките на Ислямския свят. Процъфтяващите иранска литература, философия, медицина, астрономия, математика и изкуство се превръщат в основен елемент на ислямската цивилизация. Макар през следващите столетия Иран да попада под властта на чужди, главно тюркски и монголски династии, персийската култура продължава да играе важна роля, оказвайки силно влияние върху завоевателите - Газнавиди,[6] Селджуци,[7][8] Илханиди[9] и Тимуриди.[10] В началото на 16 век на власт се установява местната династия на Сефевидите, която налага като официална религия в страната шиитския клон на исляма.[11][12] Персийската конституционна революция от 1906 година установява в страната конституционна монархия, последвана от няколко авторитарни режима. Ислямската революция от 1979 година превръща страната в теократична ислямска република. Съдържание - 1 География - 2 История - 3 Население - 4 Управление - 5 Икономика - 6 Култура - 7 Вижте още - 8 Източници - 9 Външни препратки География[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Главна статия: География на Иран Иран е разположен в югозападна Азия и се простира между 24-ия и 40-ия северен паралел и 44-ия и 64-ия източен меридиан. С територията си от 1 648 195 km² страната се намира на 18-о място в света. Иран граничи със седем страни: на изток - Пакистан (909 km граница) и Афганистан (936 km), на североизток - Туркменистан (1000 km), на северозапад - Азербайджан (500 km) и Армения (35 km), на запад - Турция (500 km) и Ирак (1458 km). Северната граница на Иран е Каспийско море – най-голямото езеро в света – с дължина на бреговата ивица 756 км. На юг Иран има 2045 км излаз на Персийския и Омански заливи. Двата залива са свързват чрез Ормузки проток, важен морски път със стратегическо значение. С изключение на Каспийското крайбрежие и провинцията Хузестан преобладаващата част от територията на Иран е заета от Иранското плато. Иранския релеф като цяло е планински с десетки скалисти вериги и хребети, разделящи речни басейни и плата. Най-гъсто населени са планинските райони. От северо-запад до юго-изток се простира планинската верига Загрос. Планинската верига Алборз, която е по-къса и по-тясна от Загрос, обгражда Каспийското крайбрежие на Иран. Нейният най-висок връх Дамаванд с височина над 5600 м е и най-високата точка на Иран. Съществена част от територията на Иран е покрита с пустини и полупустини. Такива са източните райони на страната, където се намира пустинята Дащ е Лут. Най-голямата пустиня Дащ е Кявир се разполага в централната част на северната половина на Иран. С изключение на няколко оазиса тези пустини са практически ненаселени. Големите плодородни равнини на Иран са около Каспийското крайбрежие и северния край на Персийския залив, където е устието на р. Арванд (Shatt al-Arab). Покрай бреговете на Оманския залив, Ормузкия проток и южната част на Персийския залив се намират по-малки равнини. Климат[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Климатът на Иран е разнообразен. За по-голямата част от територията е характерен ариден климат. В района на Каспийското крайбрежие и прилежащите северни горски масиви климатът е субтропичен. Тук през зимата температурите обикновено са положителни, а лятото рядко надвишават 29оС. Средногодишните количества валежи са около 1700 мм в западните части на крайбрежието и 680 мм в източните. На запад, в планините на Загрос, зимите са тежки с обилни снеговалежи и средни денонощни температури под нула. Климатът в централните и източните части на Иран е сух с годишни валежи под 200 мм. Средните летни температури са над 38оС. В равнините край Персийския и Омански заливи зимите са меки, а летата са много горещи и влажни. Средногодишните количества валежи варират между 135 и 355 м.[13] Флора[редактиране | редактиране на кода] 53 % от територията на Иран са заети от пустини, 27 % са пасища и ливади, 9 % са земеделски площи (75.620 кв.км се напояват), 11 % са заети с гори. Поради аридния характер на климата разпределението на растителността в Иран зависи от степента на увлажненост на територията и стопанската дейност на човека. Каспийското крайбрежие е известно със своите непроходими субтропически гори, наричани Шомал. Северните, най-влажните склонове на Алборз са покрити с гъсти широколистни гори, предимно от дъб, габър, бук, клен и други. По северните и централните райони на Загрос до скоро се намираха големи горски масиви от дъб, но по настоящем в резултат на интензивен дърводобив те в значителна степен са унищожени. В посока юг горите постепенно се заменят с по-ниска растителност поради намаляването на количеството валежи. В тези райони се намират гори от шам фъстък и бадем. По южното крайбрежие на Иран растителността е субтропическа. Вътрешните райони на Иран практически са лишени от растителност поради липсата на валежи и солените почви. Фауна[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Животинският свят на Иран е богат на видове. За тяхното запазване са създадени около 30 защитени територии. Широко разпространение имат копитните животни (козирог, иранска сърна, планински овен уриал, муфлон, кианг, газела, диво прасе и др.). Разнообразни са хищниците (леопард, гепард, рис, манул, лисица, чакал, вълк, хиена, мангуста и др.). В планините се срещат кафява и черна мечка. Многобройни са дребните гризачи, птиците (каспийски улар, тупач, сив франколин, яребица, мишелов, бял щъркел, сив жерав, дропла и др.). В близост до планините Алборз и Загрос е ареалът на персийския леопард. По крайбрежията на Каспийското море и Персидския залив гнездят се фламинго и пеликани. Тези райони са особено богати на водоплаващи птици. В крайбрежните води на Персийския залив се срещат зелени морски костенурки. Във водите на Каспийско море и Персийския залив има изобилие на ценни видове риба (есетра, моруна, херинга). История[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Името Персия произлиза от Персис - древногръцката форма на Парс (или Фарс), област намираща се в югозападната част на страната, откъдето произлиза династията на Ахеменидите, създателите на Иран (Персийската империя). Името Иран произлиза от древноперсийското aryanam, означаващо "(земя) на арийците" и е свързано с ранните миграции на арийци в този район. Персите винаги са наричали с това име своята държава и през 1935 г. го налагат на останалата част от света. Езика си обаче наричат Фарси (персийски), по името на областта, чийто диалект бил приет за държавен и литературен език. Персия води няколко неуспешни войни с Древна Гърция, но Гърция не нанася съществен удар на Персия. Почти изцяло завладяна от Александър Велики през 4 век пр.н.е., тя съвсем скоро възвръща своето величие. Последвали победи от ислямските арабски войски през 7 век, след това от Селджукските турци и поражение монголците при което губи значителна част от територията си. През 16-ти век си възвърнала отново своята сила със Сафавидите и след това други крале или шахи. През целия 17-ти век Персия е била под натиска на Русия и Великобритания и започнал процес на модернизация, който продължил до 20-ти век. Кулминация на опитите за либерални реформи от този период е Персийската революция от 1905/1911. През 1953 Иранския премиер Мохамед Мосадек, който е избран от парламента през 1923 и преизбран през 1944, и който заема премиерския пост до 1951, бива свален от власт от британските и американските разузнавателни служби („Операция Аякс“). Много учени предполагат, че насилственото сваляне от власт е било мотивирано от британско-американското противопоставяне на опита на Мосадек да национализира иранския петрол. След падането на Мосадек, шах Мохамед Реза Пахлави (ирански монарх) увеличил още повече диктатурата. Със силна подкрепа от САЩ и Великобритания, шахът още повече модернизирал иранската индустрия, но потъпкал гражданските свободи. Неговата автократична власт, включваща системно изтезание и други потъпквания на човешката свобода, довела до Иранската революция и сваляне на неговия режим през 1979. След повече от година политическа борба между множество различни групи, Ислямската република е основана под Аятолах Хомейни чрез гласуване. Новата теократична политическа система въвежда няколко консервативни реформи, което довежда до падане на избраното правителство през 1953 г. и затвърждава потисническия режим на шаха за повече от 25 години. Западния свят все повече смятал Иран за враждебна сила. През 1980 г. Ирак атакува Иран и последвала разрушителна ирано-иракска война, продължила до 1988 г. Население[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Главна статия: Население на Иран Мнозинството от иранците произхождат от арийците и говорят един от иранските езици, въпреки че официален е само персийският. Макар че числото, процента, и определението на различните иранци е оспорвано, главните групи в категорията на иранските езици включват персийски (60%), гилянски и мазандерански (2%), кюрдски (7%), лурски (2%), белуджки (2%), азербайджански (24%), турски (2%), арабски (3%), арменски, еврейски, асирийски и други.¹ Етнически състав[редактиране | редактиране на кода] - иранска група (над 40 народности): - тюркска група (9 народа): - азербайджанци - 24% - туркмени - 2% - афшари - шахсевени - араби - 3 % - арменци - асирийци - хазари Повечето иранци са мюсюлмани; 79% изповядват шиитски ислям, официалната национална религия, а около 5% изповядват сунитски ислям, който преобладава в повечето ислямски страни. Немюсюлманските религиозни малцинства включват Бахаити, зороастрианци, и християни- около 15%. Последните три са официално признати религии и имат запазени места в парламента. Мащаба на иранското население нараства драматично през втората половина на 20-ти век. Иран е една от седемте държави в света, в които атеизмът е незаконен и наказуем със смъртно наказание. Управление[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Държавно устройство[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Иран е ислямска република, чиито законови уредби са съобразени с вижданията на ислямското право. Страната е пример за теокрация. Според иранската Конституция Върховния водач на Иран носи отговорност за очертаването и ръководството на "общата политика на Ислямска Република Иран." При липса на единствен водач, се назначава съвет от религиозни водачи. Той назначава шестима от дванадесетимата членове на Съвета на настойниците. Той или съвета на религиозните водачи се избират от Събрание на експерти, на базата на техните квалификации и високата обществена оценка, която поддържат. След върховния водач, президентът на Иран е на най-висока длъжност в страната. Негова е отговорността за изпълнение на Конституцията и изпълнява длъножността на глава на изпълнителната власт. Според закона всички президентски кандидат трябва да се одобрят от Съвета на настойниците, след което президента се избира от универсално избиране за срок от 4 години с абсолютно мнозинство на гласовете. След неговото избиране президента назначава и ръководи Съвет от министри, съгласува правителствените решения и избира правителствени политици. Осем заместник-президента служат на президента, както и кабинет от 22 министри. Съвета на министрите трябва да бъде одобрен от парламента. За разлика от много други държави, изпълнителната власт в Иран не ръководи войсковите сили.Той също е главнокомандващ на войсковите сили и управлява разузнавателните и защитни операции на Ислямската Република; единствено той може да обяви война. Еднокамерния ирански парламент, Ислямския съвещателен съвет или Маджлес-е Шура-йе Еслами (анг. транскрипция Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami), се състои от 290 члена, избирани за срок от 4 години. Членовете се избират директно и с тайно гласуване. Те изработват законите, ратифицират международните договори и приемат държавния бюджет. Всички закони от съвета трябва се прегледат от Съвета на настойниците. Съветът на експертите, който се среща за седмица всяка година, се състои от 86 "целомъдрени и учени" духовници, избирани от народа за период от 8 години. Както президентските и парламентарните избори, Съветът на настойниците определя качествата на тези, които трябва да членуват в този съвет. От 2007 ноември председател на съвета на експертите е Али Акбар Хашеми Рафсанджани. Съветът на настойниците се състои от 12 юристи, шестима от които са назначени от Върховния водач. Главата на съдебната власт препоръчва останалите шестима, които се одобряват официално от Парламента. Упълномощен е с властта да тълкува Конституцията и да определя дали законите, приети от Парламента, следват линията на шариа (ислямски закон). След това съветът може да упражни вето спрямо Парламента. Ако един закон, приет от Парламента, е определен за несъвместим с Конституцията или шариа, той се изпраща обратно в Парламента за преразглеждане. Съветът също така проучва президентските и парламентарни кандидати, за да определи тяхната годност за заемане на длъжността. Създаден от Аятолах Хомейни през 1988 г., Опортюнисткият съвет е упълномощен да посредничи в дебатите между Парламента и Съвета на настойниците. Понастоящем, според Конституцията Опортюнисткия съвет служи за съвещателно тяло на Върховния водач, което го прави едно от най-могъщите правителствени тела в страната. Главата на съдебната власт се назначава от Върховния водач, който поред назначава главата на Върховния съд и главния държавен прокурор. Обществените съдилища се занимават с граждански и криминални дела. Има също революционни съдилища, които се опитват да определят категориите престъпления, включително престъпления срещу националната сигурност, контрабанда на наркотици и действия, които подкопават Ислямската република. Присъдите, дадени в революционните съдилища са окончателни и не могат да бъдат обжалвани. Постановленията на Специалния клерикален съд, чийто функции са независими от нормалната съдебна рамка и е подчинен само на Върховния водач, също са окончателни и не могат да бъдат обжалвани. Административно деление[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Провинции[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Адмистративната структура на Иран е на 4 нива. Основната административна единица е провинция. Тя се нарича остан (на персийски: استان — ostān; мн.ч. — استانﻫﺎ — ostānhā) и на свой ред се състои от области - шахрестани (на персийски: شهرستان). Те се делят на още две нива - бахш (на персийски: بخش) и дехестан (на персийски: دهستان). Бахш може да се разглежда като еквивалент на българската община. Дехестан представлява конгломерат от села. При сегашното деление Иран има 31 провинции. Адмистративното деление на Иран се променя значително през годините. Иран е разделен на 12 провинции. През 1950 г. броят им е намален на 10. В периода между 1960 до 1981 гг. броят на провинциите се увеличава на 28. През 2004 г. Хорасан е разделен на три провинции, а северо-западната част на провинция Техеран се оформя в отделна провинция Алборз. Градове[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Виж Списък на градовете в Иран Иран е бързо урбанизираща се държава. Съгласно данните от националното преброяване през 2011 г. броят на градовете е 1331, 8 града са с население над 1 млн., а процентът на градското население е 71% [15] . Най-големия град на Иран е столицата Техеран, който е индустриален и транспортен център на страната. Вторият по големина град е Машхад, един от светите градове на шиитите. Исфахан, трети по брой на население, е известен със своите културно-исторически паметници. Външна политика[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Външните отношения на Иран се основават на два стратегически принципа: премахване на външните влияния в региона и търсене на широки дипломатически контакти с развиващите се и необвързани страни. Иран поддържа дипломатически отношения с почти всички членки на Организацията на обединените нации, с изключение на Израел (който Иран не признава) и САЩ (от иранската революция насам).[16] От 2005 година насам иранската ядрена програма е обект на спорове със страните от западния свят заради подозренията, че Иран може да отклони цивилни ядрени технология за военни цели. Тези опасения принуждават Съвета за сигурност на ООН да наложи санкции срещу страната и на определени компании, свързани с тази програма, като по този начин да се задълбочава икономическата изолация на Иран на международната сцена. Директорът на Националното разузнаване на САЩ заяви през февруари 2009 г., че Иран не би бил в състояние да се сдобие с ядрено оръжие до 2013 г. в случай, че реши да разработи такова.[17] През юни 2013 год., след проведени избори за нов президент на старата, преминали при висока избирателна активност (около 80%), е избран реформистът Хасан Рохани. Счита се, че по ядрените въпроси той ще води политика на стопляне на отношенията със запада. Въоръжени сили[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Въоръжените сили на Иран се състоят от Сухопътни войски, Военновъздушни сили, Военноморски сили и Корпус на Ислямската революционна гвардия с обща численост около 545 000 души, както и сили от резерва 350 000 резерв сила, което представлява редовна военна сила от 900 000 души.[18] Към тях се прибавя и въоръжена паравоенна милиция, наречена „Басидж“, която включва около 90 000 униформени войници в състава на революционната гвардия и до 11 милиона мъже и жени членове на организацията из цялата страна. Иран има способността бързо да мобилизира 1 000 000 души.[19] През 2007, военните разходи на Иран са в размер на 2,6% от БВП или $ 102 на глава от населението, най-ниската цифра от всички нации в Персийския залив.[20] Военната доктрина на страната се основава на възпирането.[21] За да преодолее чуждестранното оръжейно ембарго, от иранската революция насам страната е разработила свой собствен военнопромишлен комплекс, произвеждащ танкове, бронетранспортьори, управляеми ракети, подводници, военни кораби, ракетни разрушители, радарни системи, хеликоптери и изтребители.[22][23][24] През последните години, официалните новини подчертават разработването на ракети като Хуут, Коусар, Зелзал, Фатех-110, Шахаб-3 и Саджджил, както и богата гама от безпилотни летателни апарати.[25] Фаджр-3 към момента е най-усъвършенствата балистична ракета на Иран, способна да носи до три отделни бойни глави на разстояние 2500 километра. Икономика[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Иранската икономика е 18-тата най-голяма в света по отношение на Брутен вътрешен продукт (ППС). Тя представлява съвкупност от централно планиране, държавно притежание на петролни и други стратегически предприятия, селско стопанство и малки частни предприятия в областта на търговията и услугите.[26] Стопанската инфраструктура постепенно се подобрява в последните години, но продължава да страда от висока инфлация и безработица.[27] В началото на 21 век секторът на услугите продължава да има най-голям принос към формирането на БВП, следван от промишлеността (добив и производства) и земеделието. През 2006 година 45% от държавния бюджет се попълва от петролни и газови приходи, а 31% от данъци и такси.[28] ООН класифицира иранската икономика като полуразвита.[29] Иран се надява да привлече милиарди долари от чуждестранни инвеститори чрез създаване на по-покровителствен инвестиционен климат (т.е., намаляване на ограниченията и митата по вноса, създавайки свободни търговски зони). Реалът е иранската официална валута. Големият петролен пазар през 1996 помогна при финансовите затруднения на Иран и позволи на Техеран да плати своевременно дълговите сметки. Финансовата ситуация в Иран се затяга през 1997 г., заради ниските цени на петрола. Последващото повишаване на цената на петрола през 1999/2000 позволи на Иран да си поеме въздух. Иранските бюджетни дефицити са хроничен проблем, до известна степен поради високите държавни субсидии -- общо около $4,7 милиарда на година -- включително хранителни продукти и особено бензин. Обслужващия сектор изглежда има най-големия дългосрочен растеж от гледна точка на неговия дял в БНП, но секторът продължава да е непостоянен. Държавната инвестиция подпомага земеделието, обаче, с либерализация на продукцията и разрастване на износните пазари. Обширните напоителни проекти, заедно с по-обширната продукция на износни земеделски продукти като фурми, цветя и шамфъстък, породиха най-бързия икономически ръст в Иран през 90-те години. Земеделието продължава да бъде един от най-големите работодатели - 22% от всички работни места според статистическо преброяване през 1991. Годишно страната се посещава от 750 хил. туристи. Енергиен сектор[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Иран е вторият най-голям петролен производител на ОПЕК и държи 10% от световните петролни запаси (на трето място по запаси).[30] Иран също така има вторите най-големи запаси от природен газ в света (след Русия) и има потенциала да се превърне в енергийна суперсила.[31] Въпреки това през 2005 година Иран внася рафинирани горива на стойност $4 милиарда заради контрабанда и неефективно разпределяне на вътрешния пазар.[32] Петролната индустрия произвежда средно 4 милиона барела (640 000 m3/ден) през 2005, сравнено с 6 милиона барела на ден през 1974 година. Промишлената инфраструктура става все по-неефективна заради остаряване. Към 2004 година голяма част от газовите запаси на Иран остават неразработени. Около 75% от електроенергията, произвеждана в страната (33 000 мегавата мощности), идва от електроцентрали, работещи с природен газ. Останалите 18% идват от нефт, и около 7% — от ВЕЦ. Иран строи също така слънчеви, вятърни и геотермални електроцентрали. Бързият растеж на населението и икономиката са причина потреблението на електроенергия да се увеличава средно с 8% на година. Правителството се стреми да задоволява тези нужди чрез строителството на нови газови ТЕЦ, както и на АЕЦ. Първата атомна електроцентрала в Иран и Близкия изток — АЕЦ Бушер, е официално открита през август 2010 година и е включена към националната електропреносна мрежа през 2011. През последните години САЩ наложиха поредица от санкции, засягащи търговията, кредитирането и инвестициите в Иран. От началото на 2012 г. са в сила ограничения за износа на петрол до 1 млн. барела дневно. На 24 ноември бе договорено облекчаване на част от санкциите и достъп до петролните авоари на Иран в замяна на замразяване на ядрената му програма.[33] Култура[редактиране | редактиране на кода] - Списък на иранци - Иранска музика - Най-висока степен на образование в Иран - Списък на университетите в Иран - Исляма в Иран - Иранската архитектура Вижте още[редактиране | редактиране на кода] - Комуникации в Иран - Иранска ядрена програма - Транспорт в Иран - Бяла революция - Криза с американски заложници в Иран, 1979-1981 Източници[редактиране | редактиране на кода] - ↑ http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2007&ey=2010&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=429&s=NGDPD,NGDPDPC,PPPGDP,PPPPC,LP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=49&pr.y=10 - ↑ ((en)) Kianush, K.. Persia or Iran. // art-arena.com. Art Arena, 1998. Посетен на 16 юли 2011. - ↑ ((en)) Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Eighth Report, Iran. // Publications.parliament.uk. Посетен на 18 юни 2011. - ↑ ((en)) Barrington, Lowell и др. Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices. Cengage Learning, 2009. с. 34. - ↑ ((en)) Encyclopædia Britannica Encyclopedia Article: Media ancient region, Iran. // Britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica. Посетен на 25 август 2010. - ↑ ((en)) Spuler, B. The Disintegration of the Caliphate in the East. // Holt, P.M. (ed.) и др. Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. IA: The Central islamic Lands from Pre-Islamic Times to the First World War. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1970. с. 147. - ↑ ((en)) Grousset, Rene. The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press, 1991. с. 161, 164. - ↑ ((en)) Bosworth, C.E. и др. Saldjukids. // Bearman, P. (ed.) и др. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill Online, 2009. - ↑ ((en)) Dunn, Ross E. The adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveler of the fourteenth century. University of California Press, 1986. с. 144. - ↑ ((en)) Subtelny, Maria. Timurids in Transition. - ↑ ((en)) Newman, Andrew J. Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire. - ↑ ((en)) The Islamic World to 1600. // Ucalgary.ca. The University of Calgary, 1998. Посетен на 18 юни 2011. - ↑ http://www.en.iran.ir/about/climate - ↑ The seven countries where the state can execute you for being atheist. // http://www.washingtonpost.com.+The Washington Post, 10 декември 2012. - ↑ Статистически център на Иран. Национално преброяване 2011. // amar.org.ir. - ↑ Key Events in Iran Since 1921. // Pbs.org. - ↑ Charbonneau, Louis. RPT-EXCLUSIVE-Iran would need 18 months for atom bomb-diplomats. // Reuters, 26 October 2009. - ↑ IISS Military Balance 2006, Routledge for the IISS, London, 2006, p.187 - ↑ John Pike. Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij Mobilisation Resistance Force. // Globalsecurity.org. - ↑ Iran's defense spending 'a fraction of Persian Gulf neighbors'. - ↑ Iran's doctrine based on deterrence. // IRNA. - ↑ Iran Launches Production of Stealth Sub. // Fox News. 10 May 2005. Посетен на 27 February 2008. - ↑ PressTv: Advanced attack chopper joins Iran fleet Retrieved 24 May 2009 - ↑ Iran launches advanced Jamaran destroyer. - ↑ Iran tests new long-range missile. - ↑ Iran economy. // Traveldocs.com. - ↑ World Bank: Iran’s Economic Indices Improving. Архив на оригинала от 27 September 2007. - ↑ IRNA: Crude price pegged at dlrs 39.6 a barrel under next year's budget. - ↑ Iran. // New World Encyclopedia. - ↑ EIA.doe.gov - ↑ The EU should be playing Iran and Russia off against each other, by Julian Evans, Eurasian Home, 8 November 2006 - ↑ Kim Murphy – Los Angeles Times. U.S. targets Iran's vulnerable oil. - ↑ Economix Външни препратки[редактиране | редактиране на кода] - ((fa))((en)) Президентство на Иран - ((fa))((en)) http://iran.ir - правителствен информационен портал - ((en)) http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/Middle_East/Iran/
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Iran Template:Redirect Template:About Template:Pp-semi-vandalism Template:Pp-move-indef Template:Infobox country Template:Contains Perso-Arabic text Iran (Template:IPAc-en Template:Cite web  or Template:IPAc-en; Template:Cite encyclopedia  Template:Lang-fa Template:IPA-fa), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Template:Lang-fa, Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Western Asia. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web  National Geographic. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in native use since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia (Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en). Template:Cite web  Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts. Iransaga, "Persia or Iran, a brief history". Iranian.wsTemplate:Dead link, Iranian & Persian Art. The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at Template:Convert, Iran has a population of around 75 million. Template:Cite web  It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in three spheres of Asia (West, Central, and South). Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, Template:Cite web  Iran @ 2000 and Beyond lecture series, opening address, W. Herbert Hunt, 18 May 2000Template:Dead link. Retrieved 1 October 2007. and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves. Template:Cite web Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations. Lowell Barrington, Michael J. Bosia, Kathleen Bruhn, "Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices", Cengage Learning, 2009. Excerpt from page 34: "Like China, Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations"  The first dynasty in Iran formed during the Elamite kingdom in 2800 BC. The Iranian Medes unified Iran into an empire in 625 BC. Template:Cite web  They were succeeded by the Iranian Achaemenid Empire, the Hellenic Seleucid Empire and two subsequent Iranian empires, the Parthians and the Sassanids, before the Muslim conquest in 651 AD. Iranian post-Islamic dynasties and empires expanded the Persian language and culture throughout the Iranian plateau. Early Iranian dynasties which re-asserted Iranian independence included the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Buyids. The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics and art became major elements of Muslim civilization. Iranian identity continued despite foreign rule in the ensuing centuries Template:Cite web  and Persian culture was adopted also by the Ghaznavid, B. Spuler, "The Disintegration of the Caliphate in the East", in the Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. IA: The Central islamic Lands from Pre-Islamic Times to the First World War, ed. by P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970). pg 147: One of the effects of the renaissance of the Persian spirit evoked by this work was that the Ghaznavids were also Persianized and thereby became a Persian dynasty. Seljuk, Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes, (Rutgers University Press, 1991), 161,164; "..renewed the Seljuk attempt to found a great Turko-Persian empire in eastern Iran..", "It is to be noted that the Seljuks, those Turkomans who became sultans of Persia, did not Turkify Persia-no doubt because they did not wish to do so. On the contrary, it was they who voluntarily became Persians and who, in the manner of the great old Sassanid kings, strove to protect the Iranian populations from the plundering of Ghuzz bands and save Iranian culture from the Turkoman menace." Bosworth, C.E.; Hillenbrand, R.; Rogers, J.M.; Blois, F.C. de; Bosworth, C.E.; Darley-Doran, R.E., Saldjukids, Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online: “Culturally, the constituting of the Seljuq Empire marked a further step in the dethronement of Arabic from being the sole lingua franca of educated and polite society in the Middle East. Coming as they did through a Transoxania which was still substantially Iranian and into Persia proper, the Seljuqs with no high-level Turkish cultural or literary heritage of their own – took over that of Persia, so that the Persian language became the administration and culture in their land of Persia and Anatolia. The Persian culture of the Rum Seljuqs was particularly splendid, and it was only gradually that Turkish emerged there as a parallel language in the field of government and adab; the Persian imprint in Ottoman civilization was to remain strong until the 19th century. "  Ilkhanid  Ross E. Dunn, "The adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveler of the fourteenth century", University of California Press, 1986. pg 144: "Indeed, under Ilkhanid sovereignty the high culutre of eastern and central Anatolia became more Persianized than ever before"  and Timurid Maria Subtelny, "Timurids in Transition", BRILL; illustrated edition (30 September 2007). pg 40: "Nevertheless, in the complex process of transition, members of the Timurid dynasty and their Turko-Mongolian supporters became acculturate by the surrounding Persinate millieu adopting Persian cultural models and tastes and acting as patrons of Persian culture, painting, architecture and music." pg 41: "The last members of the dynasty, notably Sultan-Abu Sa'id and Sultan-Husain, in fact came to be regarded as ideal Perso-Islamic rulers who develoted as much attention to agricultural development as they did to fostering Persianate court culture."  rulers. The emergence in 1501 of the Safavid dynasty, Andrew J. Newman, Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire, I. B. Tauris (30 March 2006)  which promoted Twelver Shia Islam R.M. Savory, Safavids, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition  as the official religion of their empire, marked one of the most important turning points in Iranian and Muslim history. The Persian Constitutional Revolution established the nation's first parliament in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy. Following a coup d'état instigated by the UK and US in 1953, Iran gradually became a more autocratic country. Growing dissent with foreign influence culminated during the Iranian Revolution which led to establishment of an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979. Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC and OPEC. The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader. Shia Islam is the official religion and Persian is the official language. Template:Cite web Etymology Template:Main The name of Iran (ایران) is the Modern Persian derivative from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānā,, meaning "Land of the Aryans", first attested in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition. Template:Cite web  LSS.wis.eduTemplate:Dead link, "Iranian Languages", Political, Social, Scientific, Literary & Artistic (Monthly) October 2000, No. 171, Dr. Suzan Kaviri, pp. 26–7retrieved 1 October 2007  Template:Cite web  Template:Cite encyclopedia  The term Ērān is found to refer to Iran in a 3rd century Sassanid inscription, and the Parthian inscription that accompanies it uses the Parthian term "aryān" in reference to Iranians. Template:Cite encyclopedia  However historically Iran has been referred to as Persia or similar (La Perse, Persien, Perzië, etc.) by the Western world, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis (Πepσίς), meaning land of the Persians. In 1935 Rezā Shāh requested that the international community should refer to the country as Iran. Opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and in 1959 both names were to be used interchangeably. Template:Cite web  Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 the official name of the country has been the "Islamic Republic of Iran." The historical and cultural wider usage of 'Iran' Richard N. Frye, interview by Asieh Namdar, CNN, 20 October 2007. "I spent all my life working in Iran. and as you know I don't mean Iran of today, I mean Greater Iran, the Iran which in the past, extended all the way from China to borders of Hungary and from other Mongolia to Mesopotamia". [1]  Richard Nelson Frye, The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Oct., 1962), pp. 261-268 http://www.jstor.org/pss/1508723 I use the term Iran in an historical context[...] Persia would be used for the modern state, more or less equivalent to "western Iran". I use the term "Greater Iran" to mean what I suspect most Classicists and ancient historians really mean by their use of Persia - that which was within the political boundaries of States ruled by Iranians. Marcinkowski, Christoph (2010). Shi'ite Identities: Community and Culture in Changing Social Contexts. LIT Verlag Münster. "The 'historical lands of Iran' – 'Greater Iran' – were always known in the Persian language as Irānshahr or Irānzamīn. Both terms refer to the Iranian plateau in addition to the Persianate world at large, those regions that had been historically under significant Persian cultural influence, roughly corresponding to the territories ruled over by the ancient Parthians and Sasanids – i.e., in addition to 'Iran proper', also the Caucasus, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Central Asia, and large parts of what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan and conforming to the Persian 'historical understanding' of the 'full territorial extent' of Iran. The capital of this entity was, at times, situated in what is now Iraq"  should not be restricted to the modern state proper, as the latter which was called Irānshahr Mīr Khvānd, Muḥammad ibn Khāvandshāh, Tārīkh-i rawz̤at al-ṣafā. Taṣnīf Mīr Muḥammad ibn Sayyid Burhān al-Dīn Khāvand Shāh al-shahīr bi-Mīr Khvānd. Az rū-yi nusakh-i mutaʻaddadah-i muqābilah gardīdah va fihrist-i asāmī va aʻlām va qabāyil va kutub bā chāphā-yi digar mutamāyiz mībāshad.[Tehrān] Markazī-i Khayyām Pīrūz [1959-60]. ایرانشهر از کنار فرات تا جیهون است و وسط آبادانی عالم است. Iranshahr streches from the Euphrates to the Oxus, and it is the center of the prosperity of the World  or Irānzamīn (Greater Iran) Frye, R. (2011). Persia. Routledge. "This 'greater Iran' included and still includes part of the Caucasus Mountains, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iraq; for Kurds, Baluchis, Afghans, Tajiks, Ossetes, and other smaller groups are Iranians" [2]  corresponded to territories of Iranian cultural or linguistic zones, and besides modern Iran, included portions of the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. History Early History Template:Further The earliest archaeological artifacts in Iran, like those excavated at the Kashafrud and Ganj Par sites, attest to a human presence in Iran since the Lower Paleolithic era. Template:Cite web  Neanderthal artefacts dating back to the Middle Paleolithic period have been found mainly in the Zagros region at sites such as Warwasi and Yafteh Cave. Pbase.com. Retrieved 27 March 2008  J. D. Vigne, J. Peters and D. Helmer, First Steps of Animal Domestication, Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the International Council of Archaeozoology, Durham, August 2002, ISBN 1-84217-121-6  Early agricultural communities began to flourish in Iran at around 8000 BC, Excavations at Chogha Bonut: The earliest village in Susiana, Irant, by Abbas Alizadeh - The Oriental Institute and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations The University of Chicago  Template:Cite web  with settlements such as Chogha Bonut, Susa and Chogha Mish developing in the Zagros region. Ancient Near Eastern art by Dominique Collon  Template:Cite web  Xinhua, "New evidence: modern civilization began in Iran", 10 Aug 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2007. The emergence of Susa as a city is determined by C14 dating as early as 4395 BC, The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State - by D. T. Potts, Cambridge University Press, 29/07/1999 - pp. 45-46 - ISBN 0521563585 hardback  well beyond the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia. There are dozens of pre-historic sites across the Iranian plateau pointing to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the fourth millennium BC, Xinhua, "New evidence: modern civilization began in Iran", 10 August 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2007. Iran Daily, "Panorama", 3 March 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2007. Template:Wayback  Iranian.ws, "Archaeologists: Modern civilization began in Iran based on new evidence", 12 August 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2007. Template:Dead link  centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia. University of Chicago. Retrieved 29 April 2006. During the Bronze age Iran was home to several civilisations such as Elam, Jiroft and Zayandeh Rud civilisations. Elam, the most prominent of these civilisations developed in the southwest of Iran alongside those in Mesopotamia. The development of writing in Elam in fourth millennium BC paralleled that in Sumer. Template:Cite web  The Elamite kingdom continued its existence until the emergence of the Median and Achaemenid Empires. Classical Era Template:Main During the second millenium BC, Proto-Iranian tribes arrived in Iran from the Eurasian steppes, http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_051212.htm  rivaling the native settlers of the country. "The Palaeolithic Indo-Europeans"—Panshin.com. Retrieved 4 June 2006. Template:Cite web  As these tribes dispersed into the wider area of Greater Iran and beyond, the boundaries of modern Iran were dominated by the Persian, Parthian and Median tribes. Soon after Zoroastrianism emerged as the main religion of the Iranian tribes. http://www.bestirantravel.com/culture/zoroastrian.html  The unification of the Median tribes under a single ruler in 728 BC led to the creation of a Median empire, which by 612 BC controlled the whole of Iran as well as eastern Anatolia. Template:Cite web In 550 BC, Cyrus the Great from the state of Anshan took over the Median empire, and founded the Achaemenid empire by unifying other city states. The conquest of Media happened as a result of what is called the Persian revolt, which was initially triggered by the actions of the Median ruler Astyages, and quickly spread to other provinces, as they allied with the Persians. Later conquests under Cyrus and his successors expanded the empire to include Lydia, Babylon, Egypt and the lands to the west of the Indus an Oxus Rivers. Conflict on the western borders began with the famous Greco-Persian Wars which continued through the first half of the 5th century BC and ended with the Persian withdrawal from all of their European territories. Template:Cite web  The empire had a centralised, bureaucratic administration under the Emperor and a large professional army and civil services, inspiring similar developments in later empires. Template:Cite encyclopaedia In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Achaemenid Empire, defeating the last Achaemenid Emperor Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC. Following the premature death of Alexander, Iran came under the control of Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. In the middle of the 2nd century BC, Parthia rose to become the main power in Iran and continued as a feudal monarchy for nearly five centuries until 224 AD, when it was succeeded by the Sassanid Empire. Template:Cite web  The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids, with the capital at Ctesiphon. Template:Cite web  Most of the period of the Parthian and Sassanid Empires were overshadowed by the Roman-Persian Wars, which raged on their western borders for over 700 years. These wars exhausted both Romans and Sassanids,which arguably led to the defeat of both at the hands of the invading Muslim Arabs. Middle Ages (652–1501) Template:Main The prolonged Roman-Persian wars, as well as social conflict within the Empire opened the way for an Islamic invasion of Iran in the 7th century. Template:Cite book  Student Resources, Chapter 12: The First Global Civilization: The Rise and Spread of Islam, The Arab Empire of the Umayyads -Weakness of the Adversary Empires  Initially defeated by the Rashidun Caliphate, Iran later came under the rule of their successors the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphates. The process of conversion of Iranians to Islam which followed was a prolonged and gradual process. Under the new Arab elite of the Rashidun and later Ummayad Caliphates Iranians, both Muslim (mawali) and non-Muslim (Dhimmi), were discriminated, being excluded from government and military, and having to pay a special tax. Patrick Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World. Oxford University Press, 2007, pg. 218–219. Student Resources, Chapter 12: The First Global Civilization: The Rise and Spread of Islam, The Arab Empire of the Umayyads - Converts and "People of the Book"  In 750 the Abbasids succeeded in overthrowing the Ummayad Caliphate, mainly due to the support from dissatisfied Iranian mawali. Template:Cite web  The mawali formed the majority of the rebel army, which was led by the Iranian general Abu Muslim. Template:Cite web  Joel Carmichael, "The Shaping of the Arabs: A Study in Ethnic Identity", Published by Macmillan, 1967. Excerpt: "Abu Muslim, the Persian general and popular leader". Richard Nelson Frye, "Iran", Edition: 2, revised Published by G. Allen & Unwin, 1960. p. 47: "A Persian Muslim called Abu Muslim. After two centuries of Arab rule semi-independent and independent Iranian kingdoms (such as the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Buyids) began to appear on the fringes of the declining Abbasid Caliphate. By the Samanid era in the 9th and 10th centuries Iran's efforts to regain its independence had been well solidified. Bosworth C. E., Cambridge History of Iran, vol. The arrival of the Abbasid Caliphs saw a revival of Persian culture and influence, and a move away from Arabic culture. The role of the old Arab aristocracy was slowly replaced by a Persian bureaucracy. Applied History Research Group , University of Calgary, "The Islamic World to 1600", Last accessed 30 October 2008   The blossoming Persian literature, philosophy, medicine, and art became major elements in the forming of a Muslim civilization during the Islamic Golden Age. - Ehsan Yarshater, "The Persian Presence in the Islamic World" in Richard G. Hovannisian, Georges Sabagh, "The Persian Presence in the Islamic World", Published by Cambridge University Press, 1997. pp. 6–7: "The Golden age of Islam, as the early Abbassid period has been labeled, was distinguished by intellectual advances, literary innovations, and cultural exuberance attributable, in no small measure, to the vital participation of Persian men of letters, philosophers, theologians, grammarians, mathematicians, musicians, astronomers, geographers, and physicians" - Bernard Lewis, "Iran in History", excerpt: "Culturally, politically, and most remarkable of all even religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new Islamic civilization is of immense importance. The work of Iranians can be seen in every field of cultural endeavor, including Arabic poetry, to which poets of Iranian origin composing their poems in Arabic made a very significant contribution." TAU.ac.il  Bernard Lewis, "Iran in History", TAU.ac.il excerpt: "Iran was indeed Islamized, but it was not Arabized. Persians remained Persians. And after an interval of silence, Iran reemerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam, eventually adding a new element even to Islam itself. Culturally, politically, and most remarkable of all even religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new Islamic civilization is of immense importance. The work of Iranians can be seen in every field of cultural endeavor, including Arabic poetry, to which poets of Iranian origin composing their poems in Arabic made a very significant contribution. In a sense, Iranian Islam is a second advent of Islam itself, a new Islam sometimes referred to as Islam-i Ajam. It was this Persian Islam, rather than the original Arab Islam, that was brought to new areas and new peoples: to the Turks, first in Central Asia and then in the Middle East in the country which came to be called Turkey, and of course to India. The Ottoman Turks brought a form of Iranian civilization to the walls of Vienna." The Islamic Golden Age reached its peak in the 10th and 11th centuries, during which Persia was the main theatre of scientific activity. William Bayne Fisher, et al., The Cambridge History of Iran 4 Published by Cambridge University Press, 1975, ISBN 0-521-20093-8, p. 396. After the 10th century, Persian, alongside Arabic, was used for scientific, philosophical, historical, mathematical, musical, and medical works, as important Iranian writers such as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Avicenna, Qotb al-Din Shirazi, Naser Khusraw and Biruni made contributions to Persian scientific writing. The cultural revival that began in the Abbasid period led to a resurfacing of Iranian national identity, and so earlier attempts of Arabization never succeeded in Iran. The Iranian Shuubiyah movement became a catalyst for Iranians to regain their independence in their relations with the Arab invaders. C.E. Bosworth, "Ajam" in Encyclopedia Iranica  The most notable effect of the movement was the continuation of the Persian language attested to the epic poet Ferdowsi, now regarded as the most important figure in Persian literature. The 10th century saw a mass migration of Turkic tribes from Central Asia into the Iranian plateau. Template:Cite book  Turkic tribesmen were first used in the Abbasid army as slave-warriors (Mamluks), replacing Persian and Arab elements within the army. As a result the Mamluks gained significant political power. In 999, Iran came under the rule of Ghaznavid dynasty, whose rulers were of Mamluk Turk origin, and later under the Turkish Seljuk and Khwarezmian Empires. These Turks had been Persianised and had adopted Persian models of administration and rulership. The result of the adoption and patronage of Persian culture by Turkish rulers was the development of a distinct Turko-Persian tradition. In 1219-21 the Khwarezmian Empire suffered a devastating invasion by Genghis Khan's Mongol army. Mongol violence and depredations killed up to three-fourths of the population of the Iranian Plateau, possibly 10 to 15 million people. Some historians have estimated that Iran's population did not again reach its pre-Mongol levels until the mid-20th century. Template:Cite book  Following the fracture of the Mongol Empire in 1256 Hulagu Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, established the Ilkhanate dynasty in Iran. In 1370 yet another conqueror, Timur, commonly known as Tamerlane in the West, followed Hulagu's example, establishing the Timurid Dynasty which lasted for another 156 years. In 1387, Timur ordered the complete massacre of Isfahan, reportedly killing 70,000 citizens. Isfahan: Iran's Hidden Jewel. Smithsonian. Hulagu, Timur and their successors soon came to adopt the ways and customs of that which they had conquered, choosing to surround themselves with a culture that was distinctively Persian. Bertold Spuler. The Muslim World. Vol. I The Age of the Caliphs. Leiden. E.J. Brill. Modern era (1501–) Template:Main In 1501 Shah Ismail I re-established Iranian political unity in the form of the Safavid Dynasty. Ismail is also known for instigated a religious revolution in Iran, forcefully converting the predominantly Sunni population to the state religion of Shi'a Islam. Template:Cite web  During the Safavid era Iran once again became a centre for high civilisation and wealth, peaking under the reign of Shah Abbas I. "The Islamic World to 1600", The Applied History Research Group, The University of Calgary, 1998. Retrieved 1 October 2007   Under his rule the state became highly centralized, the first attempts to modernize the military were made, and even a distinct style of architecture developed in his new capital at Isfahan. The Safavid era was an era of intense rivalry with the Sunni Ottoman Empire, leading to the Ottoman–Persian Wars. However, following a slow decline the Safavid dynasty was instead ended by Pashtun rebels who besieged Isfahan and defeated Soltan Hosein in 1722. In 1729 Nader Shah successfully drove out the Pashtuns from Isfahan. By 1735 Nader Shah had regained territory lost to the Ottomon and Russian Empires, and in 1738 staged a very profitable incursion into the Mughal Empire. His military successes on all fronts earned him the nickname "Napoleon of Persia" or "the second Alexander". Following a brief civil war sparked by Nader Shah's assassination Karim Khan came to power, giving himself the title Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (Representative of the People), bringing a period of relative peace and prosperity. Another civil war ensued Karim Khan's death in 1779, out of which Aga Muhammad Khan emerged victorious, founding the Qajar Dynasty in 1794 and establishing Tehran as his capital. Qajar rulership was marked by its inadequate response to change and its failure to maintain Iranian territorial integrity and sovereignty, and is consequently characterised by over a century of misrule. The Great Persian Famine of 1870–1871 is believed to have caused the death of 1.5 million persons, or 20–25% of Persia's population. Template:Cite book   Whilst resisting efforts to be colonised, Iran suffered as a result of The Great Game, losing much of its territory in the Russo-Persian and the Anglo-Persian Wars. A series of protests took place in response to the sale of concessions to foreigners by Nasser al-Din Shah and Mozaffar ad-Din Shah between 1872 and 1905, the last of which resulted in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and establishment of Iran's first national parliament (majles) in 1906. However, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah's son Mohammad Ali Shah wished to recover the power lost by his father, and so rescinded the constitution, bombed the majles building and abolished parliament in 1908. The struggle continued until 1911 when Mohammad Ali's forces were finally defeated. In 1925 Reza Khan, Prime Minister of Iran and former general of the Persian Cossack Brigade, overthrew the weakening Qajar Dynasty and became Shah. An ardent nationalist, Reza Shah initiated policies of military, administrative and financial modernisation and centralization. Industrialization, the construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway and the establishment of a national education system can be named as some of his reforms. However, in 1941 he had been forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, by Britain and the USSR, who were both fearful of Reza Shah's nascent ties to Germany and in need of supply lines for the Allied war effort in the form of the new Trans-Iranian Railway. Template:Citation In 1951, after the assassination of prime minister Ali Razmara, Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh was elected prime minister by a parliamentary vote which was then ratified by the Shah. As prime minister, Mosaddegh became enormously popular in Iran after he nationalized Iran's petroleum industry and oil reserves. In response, the British government, headed by Winston Churchill, embargoed Iranian oil and successfully enlisted the United States to join in a plot to depose the democratically elected government of Mosaddegh. In 1953 US President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized Operation Ajax. The operation was successful, and Mosaddegh was arrested on 19 August 1953. The coup was the first time the US had openly overthrown an elected, civilian government. Stephen Kinzer: All the Shah's Men. An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, p.x After Operation Ajax, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's rule became increasingly autocratic. With American support, the Shah was able to rapidly modernize Iranian infrastructure, but he simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition with his intelligence agency, SAVAK. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah's White Revolution and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964 Khomeini publicly criticized the United States government. The Shah was persuaded to send him into exile by General Hassan Pakravan. Khomeini was sent first to Turkey, then to Iraq and finally to France. While in exile, he continued to denounce the Shah. The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution, Template:Cite web  Template:Cite encyclopedia  Fereydoun Hoveyda, The Shah and the Ayatollah: Iranian Mythology and Islamic Revolution ISBN 0-275-97858-3, Praeger Publishers  began in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations against the Shah. Template:Cite web  After strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country and its economy, the Shah fled the country in January 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran. The Pahlavi dynasty collapsed ten days later, on 11 February, when Iran's military declared itself "neutral" after guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting. Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979, when Iranians overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to make it so. Encyclopædia Britannica 23 January 2008  In parallel nation wide uprisings against the new regime erupted in Kordestan, Khuzestan, Balochistan and other areas, though were eventually subdued, with some lasting until late 1980. In December 1979, the country approved a theocratic constitution, whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country. The speed and success of the revolution surprised many throughout the world, Jahangir Amuzegar, The Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution, (1991), p.4, 9–12 ISBN 0-7914-0731-4  as it had not been precipitated by a military defeat, a financial crisis, or a peasant rebellion. Arjomand, Turban (1988), p. 191. Although both nationalists and Marxists joined with Islamic traditionalists to overthrow the Shah, tens of thousands were killed and executed by the Islamic regime afterward, and the revolution ultimately resulted in an Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Cheryl Benard, Zalmay Khalilzad, "The Government of God" ISBN 0-231-05376-2, Columbia University Press (1984), p. 18. Iran – United States relations deteriorated rapidly during the revolution. On 4 November 1979, a group of Iranian students seized US embassy personnel, labeling the embassy a "den of spies". Template:Cite web  They accused its personnel of being CIA agents plotting to overthrow the revolutionary government, as the CIA had done to Mosaddegh in 1953. While the student ringleaders had not asked for permission from Khomeini to seize the embassy, Khomeini nonetheless supported the embassy takeover after hearing of its success. Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam, Mark Bowden, p. 127 ISBN 0-8021-4303-2, Grove Press While most of the female and African American hostages were released within the first months,  the remaining 52 hostages were held for 444 days. Subsequent attempts by the Jimmy Carter administration to negotiate or rescue were unsuccessful. In January 1981 the hostages were set free according to the Algiers Accords. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein decided to take advantage of what he perceived to be disorder in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and its unpopularity with Western governments. The once-strong Iranian military had been disbanded during the revolution. Saddam sought to expand Iraq's access to the Persian Gulf by acquiring territories that Iraq had claimed earlier from Iran during the Shah's rule. Of chief importance to Iraq was Khuzestan, which not only has a substantial Arab population, but boasted rich oil fields as well. On the unilateral behalf of the United Arab Emirates, the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs became objectives as well. On 22 September 1980 the Iraqi army invaded Iran at Khuzestan, precipitating the Iran–Iraq War. Although Saddam Hussein's forces made several early advances, by 1982, Iranian forces managed to push the Iraqi army back into Iraq. They soon aligned with the Iraqi Kurdish Rebellion of 1983 against Saddam. Khomeini sought to export his Islamic revolution westward into Iraq, especially on the majority Shia Arabs living in the country. The war then continued for six more years until 1988, when Khomeini, in his words, "drank the cup of poison" and accepted a truce mediated by the UN. The total Iranian casualties of the war were estimated to be anywhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000; with more than 100,000 Iranians being victims of Iraq's chemical weapons. Centre for Documents of The Imposed War, Tehran. (مرکز مطالعات و تحقیقات جنگ) Template:Verify source Almost all relevant international agencies have confirmed that Saddam engaged in chemical warfare to blunt Iranian human wave attacks; these agencies unanimously confirmed that Iran never used chemical weapons during the war. Template:Cite web  Federation of American Scientists 23 January 2008  NTI Chemical profile of IranTemplate:Dead link 23 January 2008 (Archive) Template:Verify source Following the Iran–Iraq War President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and his administration concentrated on a pragmatic pro-business policy of rebuilding and strengthening the economy without making any dramatic break with the ideology of the revolution. Rafsanjani served until 1997 when he was succeeded by the moderate reformist Mohammad Khatami. During his two terms as president, Khatami advocated freedom of expression, tolerance and civil society, constructive diplomatic relations with other states including European Union and Asian governments, and an economic policy that supported free market and foreign investment. However, Khatami is widely regarded as having been unsuccessful in achieving his goal of making Iran more free and democratic. Template:Cite news In the 2005 presidential elections, Iran made yet another change in political direction, when conservative populist candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected over Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Template:Cite news  A significant challenge to Ahmadinejad's political power, and the foundations of the Islamic Republic itself occurred during the 2009 Iranian presidential election that was held on 12 June 2009, Template:Cite news  the tenth presidential election to be held in the country. Template:Cite web  The Interior Ministry, announced incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won the election with 62.63% receiving 24.5 million votes, while Mir-Hossein Mousavi had come in second place with 13.2 million votes 33.75%. Template:Cite web  Press TV Leader addresses nation on election results, 13 June 2009  There were large irregularities in the results, invoking the 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, whose participants involved millions of Iranians in every Iranian city and around the world. BBC report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjQLC4w1XMY  Template:Cite news Geography Template:Main Template:See also Iran is the eighteenth largest country in the world, with an area of Template:Convert. Its area roughly equals that of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany combined, or somewhat more than the US state of Alaska. Template:Cite web  Iran lies between latitudes 24° and 40° N, and longitudes 44° and 64° E. Its borders are with Azerbaijan (Template:Convert (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave (Template:Convert )) Template:Cite web  and Armenia (Template:Convert) to the north-west; the Caspian Sea to the north; Turkmenistan (Template:Convert) to the north-east; Pakistan (Template:Convert) and Afghanistan (Template:Convert) to the east; Turkey (Template:Convert) and Iraq (Template:Convert) to the west; and finally the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the south. Iran consists of the Iranian Plateau with the exception of the coasts of the Caspian Sea and Khuzestan Province. It is one of the world's most mountainous countries, its landscape dominated by rugged mountain ranges that separate various basins or plateaux from one another. The populous western part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the Caucasus, Zagros and Alborz Mountains; the last contains Iran's highest point, Mount Damavand at Template:Convert, which is also the highest mountain on the Eurasian landmass west of the Hindu Kush. Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link The northern part of Iran is covered by dense rain forests called Shomal or the Jungles of Iran. The eastern part consists mostly of desert basins such as the Dasht-e Kavir, Iran's largest desert, in the north-central portion of the country, and the Dasht-e Lut, in the east, as well as some salt lakes. This is because the mountain ranges are too high for rain clouds to reach these regions. The only large plains are found along the coast of the Caspian Sea and at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, where Iran borders the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab (or the Arvand Rūd) river. Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along the remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. Climate Iran's climate ranges from arid or semiarid, to subtropical along the Caspian coast and the northern forests. On the northern edge of the country (the Caspian coastal plain) temperatures rarely fall below freezing and the area remains humid for the rest of the year. Summer temperatures rarely exceed Template:Convert. Nature & Mountains of IranTemplate:Dead link. Retrieved 25 February 2008. Template:WaybackTemplate:Dead link  Template:Cite web  Annual precipitation is Template:Convert in the eastern part of the plain and more than Template:Convert in the western part. To the west, settlements in the Zagros basin experience lower temperatures, severe winters with below zero average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall. The eastern and central basins are arid, with less than Template:Convert of rain, and have occasional deserts. Average summer temperatures exceed Template:Convert. The coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in southern Iran have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers. The annual precipitation ranges from Template:Convert. Fauna Iran's wildlife is composed of several animal species including bears, gazelles, wild pigs, wolves, jackals, panthers, Eurasian Lynx, and foxes. Domestic animals include, sheep, goats, cattle, horses, water buffalo, donkeys, and camels. The pheasant, partridge, stork, eagles and falcon are also native to Iran. One of the most famous members of Iranian wildlife is the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah, also known as the Iranian Cheetah, whose numbers were greatly reduced after the Iranian Revolution. Today there are ongoing efforts to increase its population and introduce it back in India. Iran had lost all its Asiatic Lion and the now extinct Caspian Tigers by the earlier part of the 20th century. Template:Cite book Provinces and cities Template:Main Template:See also Template:Provinces of Iran Labelled Map Iran is divided into thirty one provinces (ostān), each governed by an appointed governor (استاندار, ostāndār). The provinces are divided into counties (shahrestān), and subdivided into districts (bakhsh) and sub-districts (dehestān). Iran has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world. From 1950 to 2002, the urban proportion of the population increased from 27% to 60%. Template:Cite web  The United Nations predicts that by 2030, 80% of the population will be urban. "Islamic Azad University"Template:Dead link. Retrieved 28 January 2008. Template:WaybackTemplate:Dead link  Most internal migrants have settled near the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Qom. The listed populations are from the 2006/07 (1385 AP) census. Iranian National Portal of StatisticsTemplate:Dead link. Retrieved 27 February 2008. Template:WaybackTemplate:Dead link  Tehran, with a population of 7,705,036, is the largest city in Iran and is the capital. Tehran, like many big cities, suffers from severe air pollution. It is the hub of the country's communication and transport network. Mashhad, with a population of 2,410,800, is the second largest Iranian city and the centre of the Razavi Khorasan Province. Mashhad is one of the holiest Shia cities in the world as it is the site of the Imam Reza shrine. It is the centre of tourism in Iran, and between 15 and 20 million pilgrims go to the Imam Reza's shrine every year. Religious Tourism Potentials Rich. Retrieved 28 February 2008. Template:Dead link  Template:Cite web Another major Iranian city is Isfahan (population 1,583,609), which is the capital of Isfahan Province. The Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The city contains a wide variety of Islamic architectural sites ranging from the 11th to the 19th century. The growth of the suburban area around the city has turned Isfahan into Iran's second most populous metropolitan area (3,430,353). Iran – Statistical Centre. Retrieved 27 February 2008. Template:Dead link The fourth major city of Iran is Tabriz (population 1,378,935), the capital of the East Azerbaijan Province. It is also the second industrial city of Iran after Tehran. Tabriz had been the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s and one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince under the Qajar dynasty. The city has proven extremely influential in the country’s recent history. The fifth major city is Karaj (population 1,377,450), located in Alborz Province and situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of the Alborz mountains; however, the city is increasingly becoming an extension of metropolitan Tehran. The sixth major Iranian city is Shiraz (population 1,214,808); it is the capital of Fars Province. The Elamite civilization to the west greatly influenced the area, which soon came to be known as Persis. The ancient Persians were present in the region from about the 9th century BC, and became rulers of a large empire under the Achaemenid dynasty in the 6th century BC. The ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, are located in or near Shiraz. Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire and is situated Template:Convert northeast of modern Shiraz. UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. Template:Largest cities of Iran Template:Clear Culture Template:Main Template:See also The culture of Iran is a mix of ancient pre-Islamic culture and Islamic culture. Iranian culture has long been a predominant culture of the region, with Persian considered the language of intellectuals during much of the 2nd millennium, and the language of religion and the populace before that. The Sassanid era was an important and influential historical period in Iran as Iranian culture influenced China, India and Roman civilization considerably, J. B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian Volume 1, p.109 ISBN 0-486-20398-0, Dover Publications  and so influenced as far as Western Europe and Africa. Template:Cite web  This influence played a prominent role in the formation of both Asiatic and European medieval art. Template:Cite web  This influence carried forward to the Islamic world. Much of what later became known as Islamic learning, such as philology, literature, jurisprudence, philosophy, medicine, architecture and the sciences were based on some of the practises taken from the Sassanid Persians to the broader Muslim world. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web Since the Islamization of Iran, Islamic rituals have penetrated the Iranian culture. The most noticeable of them is the commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali: every year on the Day of Ashura, most Iranians, including Armenians and Zoroastrians, participate in mourning for the martyrs of the battle of Karbala. Daily life in modern Iran is closely interwoven with Shia Islam and the country's art, literature, and architecture are an ever-present reminder of its deep national tradition and of a broader literary culture. Template:Cite encyclopedia  Template:Cite web The Iranian New Year (Nowruz) is an ancient tradition celebrated on 21 March to mark the beginning of spring in Iran. It is also celebrated in Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and previously also in Georgia and Armenia. It is also celebrated by the Iraqi and Anatolian Kurds. Template:Cite web  Nowruz was registered on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity Template:Cite web  and described as the Persian New Year Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link  Template:Cite news  Template:Cite web Template:Dead link  Template:Cite web  by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2009. Language and literature Template:Main Template:See also Article 15 of the Iranian constitution states that the "Official language (of Iran)... is Persian...[and]... the use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools, is allowed in addition to Persian." Persian serves as a lingua franca in Iran and most publications and broadcastings are in this language. Next to Persian, there are many publications and broadcastings in other relatively popular languages of Iran such as Azerbaijani, Kurdish and even in less popular ones such as Arabic and Armenian. Many languages originated in Iran, but Persian is the most used language. Persian belongs to the Iranian branch of the family of Indo-European languages. The oldest records in Old Persian date to the Achaemenid Empire, Template:Cite book  and examples of Old Persian have been found in present-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt. In the late 8th century, Persian was highly Arabized and written in a modified Arabic script. This caused a movement supporting the revival of Persian. An important event of this revival was the writing of the Shahname by Ferdowsi (Persian: Epic of Kings), Iran's national epic, which is said to have been written entirely in native Persian. This gave rise to a strong reassertion of Iranian national identity, and is in part credited for the continued existence of Persian as a separate language. Persian beside Arabic has been a medium for literary and scientific contributions to the Islamic world especially in Anatolia, central Asia and Indian subcontinent. Poetry is a very important part of Persian culture. Poetry is used in many Persian classical works, whether from literature, science, or metaphysics. Persian literature has been considered by such thinkers as Goethe as one of the four main bodies of world literature. Von David Levinson, Karen Christensen, Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, Charles Scribner's Sons. The Persian language has produced a number of famous poets; however, only a few poets as Rumi and Omar Khayyám have surfaced among western popular readership, even though the likes of Hafiz, Saadi, Nizami C. A. (Charles Ambrose) Storey and Franço de Blois (2004), “Persian Literature – A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period.”, RoutledgeCurzon; 2nd revised edition (21 June 2004). Pg 363: “Nizami Ganja’i, whose personal name was Ilyas, is the most celebrated native poet of the Persians after Firdausi. His nisbah designates him as a native of Ganja (Elizavetpol, Kirovabad) in Azerbaijan, then still a country with an Iranian population  Attar, Sanai, Nasir Khusraw, Jami, Taleb Amoli are considered by many Iranians to be just as influential. The books of famous poets have been translated into western languages since 1634. An example of Persian poetic influence is the poem below which is widely popular: Philosophy While there are ancient relations between the Indian Vedas and the Iranian Avesta, the two main families of the ancient Indo-Iranian philosophical traditions were characterized by fundamental differences in their implications for the human being's position in society and their view on the role of man in the universe. Philip G. Kreyenbroek: "Morals and Society in Zoroastrian Philosophy" in "Persian Philosophy". Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy: Brian Carr and Indira Mahalingam. Routledge, 2009. Mary Boyce: "The Origins of Zoroastrian Philosophy" in "Persian Philosophy". Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy: Brian Carr and Indira Mahalingam. Routledge, 2009. Iranian philosophy after the acceptance of Islam in Persia, is characterized by different interactions with the Ancient Iranian Philosophy, the Ancient Greek philosophy and with the development of Islamic philosophy. Illuminationism and transcendent theosophy are regarded as two of the main philosophical traditions of that era in Persia. Among important contributors to philosophy in Iran are Zoroaster, Jamasp, Mardan-Farrux Ohrmazddadan, Adurfarnbag Farroxzadan, Adurbad Emedan, Iranshahri, Farabi, Avicenna, Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari, Suhrawardi, Nasir Khusraw, Biruni, Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani, Nasir al-Din Tusi, Qutb al-Din Shirazi, Mir Damad, Mulla Sadra, Mir Fendereski and Hadi Sabzevari. Music The musical culture of Persia, while distinct, is closely related to other musical systems of the West and Central Asia. It has also affinities to the music cultures of the Indian subcontinent, to a certain degree even to those of Africa, and, in the period after 1850 particularly, to that of Europe. Its history can be traced to some extent through these relationships. Like that of most of the world’s cultures, the music of Persia has depended on oral/aural transmission and learning. Bruno Nettl, "Iran: Music" in Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved November 2010 at iranicaonline.org Cinema Template:Main Iranian cinema has thrived in modern Iran, and many Iranian directors have garnered worldwide recognition for their work. Iranian movies have won over three hundred awards in the past twenty-five years including Oscars. One of the best-known directors is Abbas Kiarostami. The media of Iran is a mixture of private and state-owned, but books and movies must be approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance before being released to the public. The Internet has become enormously popular among the Iranian youth. Iran is now the world's fourth largest country of bloggers. Template:Cite news Art and architecture Iran is home to one of the richest artistic traditions in world history and encompasses many disciplines, including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and stonemasonry. Carpet-weaving is one of the most distinguished manifestations of Persian culture and art, and dates back to ancient Persia. Persians were among the first to use mathematics, geometry, and astronomy in architecture and also have extraordinary skills in making massive domes which can be seen frequently in the structure of bazaars and mosques. The main building types of classical Iranian architecture are the mosque and the palace. Besides being home to a large number of art houses and galleries, Iran also holds one of the largest and most valuable jewel collections in the world. Iran ranks seventh among countries in the world with the most archeological architectural ruins and attractions from antiquity as recognized by UNESCO. Template:Cite web  Fifteen of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites are creations of Iranian architecture. Template:- Cuisine Template:Main The cuisine of Iran is diverse, with each province featuring dishes, as well as culinary traditions and styles, distinct to their regions. The main Persian cuisines are combinations of rice with meat, chicken or fish and some onion, vegetables, nuts, and herbs. Herbs are frequently used along with fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots, and raisins. Iranians also usually eat plain yogurt (Template:Lang-fa) with lunch and dinner; it is a staple of the diet in Iran. To achieve a balanced taste, characteristic flavourings such as saffron, dried limes, cinnamon, and parsley are mixed delicately and used in some special dishes. Onions and garlic are normally used in the preparation of the accompanying course, but are also served separately during meals, either in raw or pickled form. Iran is also famous for its caviar. Iran-daily.comTemplate:Dead link  Iranian food is not piquant. Sports With two thirds of Iran's population under the age of 25, many sports are practised in Iran, both traditional and modern. Iran is the birthplace of polo, Template:Cite news  and Varzesh-e Pahlavani. Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally regarded as Iran's national sport, however today, the most popular sport in Iran is soccer with the country having won the Asian Cup on three occasions. Basketball is also very popular in Iran where the national team won two of the last three Asian Championships. Template:Cite news  In 1974, Iran became the first country in West Asia to host the Asian Games. Iran is home to several unique skiing resorts, Template:Cite news  with the Tochal resort being the world's fifth-highest ski resort (Template:Convert at its highest station), and located only fifteen minutes away from Tehran. Being a mountainous country, Iran is a venue for hiking, rock climbing, Template:Cite web  and mountain climbing. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web  http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=News&id=2062458 Template:Dead link Government and politics The political system of the Islamic Republic is based on the 1979 Constitution. Accordingly, it is the duty of the Islamic government to furnish all citizens with equal and appropriate opportunities, to provide them with work, and to satisfy their essential needs, so that the course of their progress may be assured. University of Bern; Iranian Constitution summary. Retrieved 30 November 2009. Template:Dead link The system comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The Leader of the Revolution (commonly called "Supreme Leader" in the US and the UK) is responsible for delineation and supervision of the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Leader.ir. Retrieved 13 May 2008  The Supreme Leader is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, controls the military intelligence and security operations; and has sole power to declare war or peace. The heads of the judiciary, state radio and television networks, the commanders of the police and military forces and six of the twelve members of the Guardian Council are appointed by the Supreme Leader. The Assembly of Experts elects and dismisses the Supreme Leader on the basis of qualifications and popular esteem. Template:Cite web  The Assembly of Experts is responsible for supervising the Supreme Leader in the performance of legal duties. After the Supreme Leader, the Constitution defines the President of Iran as the highest state authority. Template:Cite web  The President is elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years and can only be re-elected for one term. Template:Dubious Presidential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council prior to running in order to ensure their allegiance to the ideals of the Islamic revolution. Chibli Mallat, The Renewal of Islamic Law: Muhammad Baqer As-Sadr, Najaf and the Shi'i international, ISBN 0-521-53122-5, Cambridge University Press The President is responsible for the implementation of the Constitution and for the exercise of executive powers, except for matters directly related to the Supreme Leader, who has the final say in all matters. The President appoints and supervises the Council of Ministers, coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the legislature. Template:Cite web  Eight Vice-Presidents serve under the President, as well as a cabinet of twenty two ministers, who must all be approved by the legislature. Template:Cite web  Unlike many other states, the executive branch in Iran does not control the armed forces. Although the President appoints the Ministers of Intelligence and Defense, it is customary for the President to obtain explicit approval from the Supreme Leader for these two ministers before presenting them to the legislature for a vote of confidence. Iran's current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was first elected in a run-off poll in the 2005 presidential elections and re-elected in the 2009 presidential elections. As of 2012, the legislature of Iran (known in English as the Islamic Consultative Assembly) is a unicameral body. Template:Cite web  Before the Iranian Revolution, the legislature was bicameral, but the upper house was removed under the new constitution. The Majlis of Iran comprises 290 members elected for four-year terms. The Majlis drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the national budget. All Majlis candidates and all legislation from the assembly must be approved by the Guardian Council. Template:Cite web The Guardian Council comprises twelve jurists including six appointed by the Supreme Leader. The others are elected by the Parliament from among the jurists nominated by the Head of the Judiciary. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web  The Council interprets the constitution and may veto Parliament. If a law is deemed incompatible with the constitution or Sharia (Islamic law), it is referred back to Parliament for revision. In a controversial exercise of its authority, the Council has drawn upon a narrow interpretation of Iran's constitution to veto parliamentary candidates. The Expediency Council has the authority to mediate disputes between Parliament and the Guardian Council, and serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, making it one of the most powerful governing bodies in the country. Template:Cite news The Supreme Leader appoints the head of Iran's judiciary, who in turn appoints the head of the Supreme Court and the chief public prosecutor. Template:Cite web  There are several types of courts including public courts that deal with civil and criminal cases, and "revolutionary courts" which deal with certain categories of offenses, including crimes against national security. The decisions of the revolutionary courts are final and cannot be appealed. The Special Clerical Court handles crimes allegedly committed by clerics, although it has also taken on cases involving lay people. The Special Clerical Court functions independently of the regular judicial framework and is accountable only to the Supreme Leader. The Court's rulings are final and cannot be appealed. The Assembly of Experts, which meets for one week annually, comprises 86 "virtuous and learned" clerics elected by adult suffrage for eight-year terms. As with the presidential and parliamentary elections, the Guardian Council determines candidates' eligibility. The Assembly elects the Supreme Leader and has the constitutional authority to remove the Supreme Leader from power at any time. It has not challenged any of the Supreme Leader's decisions. Local city councils are elected by public vote to four-year terms in all cities and villages of Iran. According to article seven of Iran's Constitution, these local councils together with the Parliament are "decision-making and administrative organs of the State". This section of the constitution was not implemented until 1999 when the first local council elections were held across the country. Councils have many different responsibilities including electing mayors, supervising the activities of municipalities; studying, planning, co-ordinating and implementing of social, cultural, educational, health, economic, and welfare requirements of their constituencies. Foreign relations and military Template:Main Template:See also Iran's stated goal is to establish a new world order based on world peace and justice. Iran urges NAM to make collective bids to establish global peace. PressTV, August 26, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012. Ahmadinejad calls for new world order based on justice. PressTV May 26, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012. Iran's foreign relations are based on two strategic principles: eliminating outside influences in the region and pursuing extensive diplomatic contacts with developing and non-aligned countries. Iran maintains diplomatic relations with almost every member of the United Nations, except for Israel, which Iran does not recognize, and the United States since the Iranian Revolution. Template:Cite web  Since 2005, Iran's nuclear program has become the subject of contention with the Western world due to suspicions that Iran could divert the civilian nuclear technology to a weapons program. This has led the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Iran on select companies linked to this program, thus furthering its economic isolation on the international scene. The US Director of National Intelligence said in February 2009 that Iran would not realistically be able to a get a nuclear weapon until 2013, if it chose to develop one. Template:Cite news The Islamic Republic of Iran has two types of armed forces: the regular forces Islamic Republic of Iran Army, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), totaling about 545,000 active troops. Iran also has around 350,000 Reserve Force totaling around 900,000 trained troops. IISS Military Balance 2006, Routledge for the IISS, London, 2006, p.187  Iran has a paramilitary, volunteer militia force within the IRGC, called the Basij, which includes about 90,000 full-time, active-duty uniformed members. Up to 11 million men and women are members of the Basij who could potentially be called up for service; GlobalSecurity.org estimates Iran could mobilize "up to one million men". This would be among the largest troop mobilizations in the world. Template:Cite web  In 2007, Iran's military spending represented 2.6% of the GDP or $102 per capita, the lowest figure of the Persian Gulf nations. Template:Cite web  Iran's military doctrine is based on deterrence. Template:Cite web Since the Iranian Revolution, to overcome foreign embargo, Iran has developed its own military industry, produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, guided missiles, submarines, military vessels, guided missile destroyer, radar systems, helicopters and fighter planes. Template:Cite news  PressTv: Advanced attack chopper joins Iran fleet Retrieved 24 May 2009  Template:Cite web  In recent years, official announcements have highlighted the development of weapons such as the Hoot, Kowsar, Zelzal, Fateh-110, Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles, and a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Template:Cite news  The Fajr-3 (MIRV) is currently Iran's most advanced ballistic missile, it is a liquid fuel missile with an undisclosed range which was developed and produced domestically. Economy Template:Main Template:See also The economy of Iran is the twenty-fifth largest in the world by GDP (nominal) and the eighteenth largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity (PPP). Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. Template:Cite web  Its economic infrastructure has been improving steadily over the past two decades but continues to be affected by inflation and unemployment. Template:Cite web  In the early 21st century the service sector contributed the largest percentage of the GDP, followed by industry (mining and manufacturing) and agriculture. In 2006, about 45% of the government's budget came from oil and natural gas revenues, and 31% came from taxes and fees. Template:Cite web Government spending contributed to an average annual inflation rate of 14% in the period 2000–2004. As at 2007, Iran had earned $70 billion in foreign exchange reserves mostly (80%) from crude oil exports. Iran DailyTemplate:Dead link Forex Reserves Put at $70b Retrieved 24 February 2008  In 2011 GDP was $482.4 billion ($1.003 trillion at PPP), or $13,200 at PPP per capita, signifying a 2% growth in GDP. Because of these figures and the country’s diversified but small industrial base, the United Nations classifies Iran's economy as semi-developed (1998). Template:Citation needed About 1,659,000 foreign tourists visited Iran in 2004; most came from Asian countries, including the republics of Central Asia, while a small share came from the countries of the European Union and North America. Iran currently ranks 89th in tourist income, but is rated among the "10 most touristic countries" in the world in terms of its history. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web  Weak advertising, unstable regional conditions, a poor public image in some parts of the world, and absence of efficient planning schemes in the tourism sector have all hindered the growth of tourism. The administration continues to follow the market reform plans of the previous one and indicated that it will diversify Iran's oil-reliant economy. Iran has also developed a biotechnology, nanotechnology, and pharmaceuticals industry. List of Iranian Nanotechnology companiesTemplate:Dead link. Retrieved 23 January 2008. Template:WaybackTemplate:Dead link  The strong oil market since 1996 helped ease financial pressures on Iran and allowed for Tehran's timely debt service payments. Iranian budget deficits have been a chronic problem, mostly due to large-scale state subsidies, that include foodstuffs and especially gasoline, totaling more than $84 billion in 2008 for the energy sector alone. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web  In 2010, the economic reform plan was approved by parliament to cut subsidies gradually and replace them with targeted social assistance. The objective is to move towards free market prices in a 5-year period and increase productivity and social justice. Template:Cite web Over the past 15 years, the authorities have placed an emphasis on the local production of domestic-consumption oriented goods such as home appliances, cars, agricultural products, pharmaceutical, etc. Today, Iran possesses a good manufacturing industry, despite restrictions imposed by foreign countries. However, nationalized industries such as the bonyads have often been managed badly, making them ineffective and uncompetitive with years. Currently, the government is trying to privatize these industries, and, despite successes, there are still several problems to be overcome, such as the lagging corruption in the public sector and lack of competitiveness. Iran ranks 69th out of 139 in Global Competitiveness Report. Template:Cite web Iran has leading manufacturing industries in the fields of car-manufacture and transportation, construction materials, home appliances, food and agricultural goods, armaments, pharmaceuticals, information technology, power and petrochemicals in the Middle East. UK Trade & InvestmentTemplate:Dead link. Retrieved 26 February 2008. - TEPIX.PNG TSE has been one of the world's best performing stock exchanges in recent years. Template:Cite news  Template:Cite web - Trade balance.png Iran's trade balance (2000–2007). For the first time, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports is expected to reach the value of imports by 2012. http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx? - IranprovincesGDP.jpg Iranian provinces' contribution to GDP. Tehran host 45% of Iran's industries. CSIS: The US, Israel, the Arab States and a Nuclear Iran - Iran oil exports 1385 en.jpg Map of Iran's non-oil exports Energy Iran ranks second in the world in natural gas reserves and third in oil reserves. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web  It is OPEC's 2nd largest oil exporter and is an energy superpower. Template:Cite web  The EU should be playing Iran and Russia off against each other, by Julian Evans, Eurasian Home, 8 November 2006  In 2005, Iran spent US$4 billion on fuel imports, because of contraband and inefficient domestic use. Template:Cite web  Oil industry output averaged Template:Convert in 2005, compared with the peak of six million barrels per day reached in 1974. In the early years of the 2000s (decade), industry infrastructure was increasingly inefficient because of technological lags. Few exploratory wells were drilled in 2005. In 2004, a large share of natural gas reserves in Iran were untapped. Iran is the third country in the world to have developed GTL technology. Template:Cite web  The addition of new hydroelectric stations and the streamlining of conventional coal and oil-fired stations increased installed capacity to 33,000 megawatts. Of that amount, about 75% was based on natural gas, 18% on oil, and 7% on hydroelectric power. In 2004, Iran opened its first wind-powered and geothermal plants, and the first solar thermal plant is to come online in 2009. Demographic trends and intensified industrialization have caused electric power demand to grow by 8% per year. The government’s goal of 53,000 megawatts of installed capacity by 2010 is to be reached by bringing on line new gas-fired plants and by adding hydroelectric, and nuclear power generating capacity. Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr went online in 2011. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web Science and technology Template:Main Template:See also Ancient Iranians built Qanats and Yakhchal to provide and keep water. The first windmill appeared in Iran in the 9th century. Ahmad Y Hassan, Donald Routledge Hill (1986). Islamic Technology: An illustrated history, p. 54. Cambridge University Press. Iranians contributed significantly to the current understanding of astronomy, natural science, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. Khwarizmi is widely hailed as the father of algebra. Ethanol (alcohol) was first identified by Persian alchemists such as Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi. Throughout the Middle Ages, the philosophy and mathematics of the Ancient Greeks and Persians were furthered and preserved within Persia. The Academy of Gundishapur was a renowned centre of learning in the city of Gundeshapur during late antiquity and was the most important medical centre of the ancient world during the 6th and 7th centuries. The Cambridge History of Iran Vol 4, p396. ISBN 0-521-20093-8  During this period, Persia became a centre for the manufacture of scientific instruments, retaining its reputation for quality well into the 19th century. Iran strives to revive the golden age of Persian science. The country has increased its publication output nearly tenfold from 1996 through 2004, and has been ranked first in terms of output growth rate followed by China. Template:Cite web  According to SCImago, Iran could rank fourth in the world in terms of research output by 2018. Iran could rank fourth in the world in terms of research output in 2018: SCImago. Tehran Times, September 22, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012. Despite the limitations in funds, facilities, and international collaborations, Iranian scientists remain highly productive in several experimental fields, such as pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, organic chemistry, and polymer chemistry. Iranian scientists are also helping construct the Compact Muon Solenoid, a detector for CERN's Large Hadron Collider. In 2009, a SUSE Linux-based HPC system made by the Aerospace Research Institute of Iran (ARI) was launched with 32 cores and now runs 96 cores. Its performance was pegged at 192 GFLOPS. Template:Cite web  Sorena 2 Robot, which was designed by engineers at University of Tehran, was unveiled in 2010. the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has placed the name of Surena among the five prominent robots of the world after analyzing its performance. Template:Cite web In the biomedical sciences, Iran's Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics is a UNESCO chair in biology. Template:Cite web  In late 2006, Iranian scientists successfully cloned a sheep by somatic cell nuclear transfer, at the Rouyan research centre in Tehran. Middle East Online ميدل ايست اونلاين The first successfully cloned animal in Iran retrieved 7 August 2008  According to a study by David Morrison and Ali Khademhosseini (Harvard-MIT and Cambridge), stem cell research in Iran is amongst the top 10 in the world. Template:Cite web  Iran ranks 15th in the world in nanotechnologies. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web  Iran daily: Iranian Technology From Foreign PerspectiveTemplate:Dead link The Iranian nuclear program was launched in the 1950s. Iran is the 7th country in production of uranium hexafluoride Template:Cite web  and controls the entire cycle for producing nuclear fuel. [3]Template:Dead link  Iran's current facilities includes several research reactors, a uranium mine, an almost complete commercial nuclear reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include a uranium enrichment plant. Recently, head of the British spy agency MI6 forecast that Iran will achieve nuclear weapon capability in two years. Template:Cite news The Iranian Space Agency launched its first reconnaissance satellite named Sina-1 in 2006, and a space rocket in 2007, Rocket launchTemplate:Dead link. Retrieved 23 January 2008. Template:WaybackTemplate:Dead link  which aimed at improving science and research for university students. http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/2/26/90124.shtml  Iran placed its domestically built satellite, Omid into orbit on the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, on 2 February 2009, Template:Cite web  through Safir rocket, becoming the ninth country in the world capable of both producing a satellite and sending it into space from a domestically made launcher. Template:Cite web  In July 2012, Iranian Supereme leader Ali Khamanei stated on a State TV broadcast that US-led sanctions have not succeeded in impeding the technological advancement of his nation. Template:Cite news Iranian scientists outside Iran have also made some major contributions to science. In 1960, Ali Javan co-invented the first gas laser and fuzzy set theory was introduced by Lotfi Zadeh. http://www-bisc.cs.berkeley.edu/Zadeh-1965.pdf  Iranian cardiologist, Tofy Mussivand invented and developed the first artificial cardiac pump, the precursor of the artificial heart. Furthering research and treatment of diabetes, HbA1c was discovered by Samuel Rahbar. Iranian physics is especially strong in string theory, with many papers being published in Iran. Template:Cite web  Iranian-American string theorist Kamran Vafa proposed the Vafa-Witten theorem together with Edward Witten. Demographics Iran is a diverse country, consisting of people of many religious and ethnic backgrounds, which is cemented by the Persian language and culture. Template:Cite web  The majority of the population speaks the Persian language, which is also the official language of the country, as well as other Iranian languages or dialects. Turkic languages and dialects, most importantly Azerbaijani language, are spoken in different areas in Iran. Additionally, Arabic is spoken in the southwestern parts of the country, although Arabs constitute a minority in these regions. The exact ethnic breakdown of Iran is unknown as there are no official numbers, however some organizations have made estimates. The World Factbook released the estimate: Persians (61%), Azerbaijanis (16%), Kurds (10%), Lurs (6%), Arabs (2%), Balochs (2%), Turkmens and Turkic tribes (2%), Template:Cite web  Laks, Qashqai, Pashtuns, Armenians, Georgians, Persian Jews, Assyrians, Circassians, Tats, Mandaeans, Gypsies, Brahuis, Kazakhs and others (1%). However according to them Persian is spoken as first language by 53%, while Azerbaijani and other Turkic dialects is spoken by 18%, Kurdish by 10%, Gilaki and Mazandarani by 7%, Luri by 6%, Balochi by 2%, Arabic by 2% and that some 2% have other languages as first language. The Library of Congress estimates are as following: Persians (65%), Azerbaijanis (16%), Kurds (7%), Lurs (6%), Arabs (2%), Baluchi (2%), Turkmens (1%), Turkic tribal groups such as the Qashqai (1%), and non-Persian, non-Turkic groups such as Armenians, Assyrians, Pashtuns and Georgians (less than 1%). According to it Persian is spoken as a mother tongue by at least 65% of the population and as a second language by a large proportion of the remaining 35%. Template:Cite web Iran's population increased dramatically during the latter half of the 20th century, reaching about 75 million by 2009. Template:Cite web  According to the 1956 census the population of Iran was about 19 million. Template:Cite web  In recent years, however, Iran's birth rate has dropped significantly, and is 1.29% in July 2012. Studies project that Iran's rate of population growth will continue to slow until it stabilizes above 105 million by 2050. Template:Cite web Template:Dead link  Template:Cite web  More than two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, and the literacy rate is 82%. [4]Template:Dead link  Women today compose more than half of the incoming classes for universities around the country and increasingly continue to play pivotal roles in society. Iran hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world, with more than one million refugees, mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq. "Afghanistan-Iran: Iran says it will deport over one million Afghans  Since 2006, Iranian officials have been working with the UNHCR and Afghan officials for their repatriation. Template:Cite web  According to estimates, about five million Iranian citizens have emigrated to other countries, mostly since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite web According to the Iranian Constitution, the government is required to provide every citizen of the country with access to social security that covers retirement, unemployment, old age, disability, accidents, calamities, health and medical treatment and care services. This is covered by public revenues and income derived from public contributions. The World Health Organization in on health systems ranked Iran's performance on health level 58th, and its overall health system performance 93rd among the world's nations in 2000. Template:Cite web Religion Template:Main Template:Bar box Religion in Iran is dominated by the Twelver Shia branch of Islam, which is the official state religion and to which about 90% to 95% Walter Ralston Martin, Ravi K. Zacharias, The Kingdom of the Cults (2003), p.421; Excerpt: Ninety-five percent of Iran's Muslims are Shi'ites. Bhabani Sen Gupta, The Persian Gulf and South Asia:: prospects and problems of inter-regional cooperation. p.158; Excerpt: Shias constitute seventy-five percent of the population of the Gulf. Of this, ninety-five percent of Iranians and sixty of Iraqis are Shias. Daily report, Issues 64–73 -'United States. Foreign Broadcast Information Service- Page 50, Excerpt: Ninety -five percent of Iranians are Shiite Moslems. of Iranians belong. About 4% to 8% of Iranians belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, mainly Kurds and Iran's Balochi Sunni. The remaining 2% are non-Muslim religious minorities, including Bahá'ís, Mandeans, Hindus, Yezidis, Yarsanis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians. The latter three minority religions are officially recognized and protected, and have reserved seats in the Majlis (Parliament). However the Bahá'í Faith, Iran's largest religious minority, Template:Cite web  is not officially recognized, and has been persecuted during its existence in Iran. Since the 1979 revolution the persecution of Bahá'ís has increased with executions, the denial of civil rights and liberties, and the denial of access to higher education and employment. Template:Cite web  Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link Hinduism in Iran has a history stretching back to the Middle Ages. Presently, Hindus are known to travel to Iran, but the vast majority consist of migrant workers from India. Out of Iran's population of 68,017,860, there are 68,017 recorded Hindus, making them 0.1% of the total population. (The percentage of Hindu population of Iran was taken from the United States Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report 2004)  Some of the poetry of Sohrab Sepehri shows Buddhist influence, and another major contemporary poet, Ahmad Shamlou, translated a book of Japanese haiku poetry into Persian. See also References External links - The e-office of the Supreme Leader of Iran - The President of Iran - Iran.ir - Template:CIA World Factbook link - Template:GovPubs - Template:Dmoz - Template:Wikiatlas - Template:Wikivoyage-inline Template:Navboxes Template:Portal bar Template:Use dmy datesTemplate:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link GA ace:Iran kbd:Kъaжэp af:Iran als:Iran am:ፋርስ ang:Persealand ar:إيران an:Irán arc:ܐܝܪܐܢ roa-rup:Iran frp:Éran ast:Irán gn:Irán az:İran bn:ইরান zh-min-nan:Iran be:IpaH be-x-old:IpaH bcl:Iran bg:ИpaH bar:Iran bo:ཡི་ལང་། bs:Iran br:Iran bxr:ИpaH ca:Iran cv:ИcлaM Pecпyблиkи ИpaH ceb:Iran cs:Írán co:Iranu cy:Iran da:Iran pdc:Iraen de:Iran dv:އީރާން nv:Iiwą́ą́ dsb:Iran dz:ཨི་རཱན་ et:Iraan el:Ipάv es:Irán eo:Irano ext:Irán eu:Iran fa:ایران hif:Iran fo:Iran fr:Iran fy:Iran ga:An Iaráin gv:Yn Eeraan gag:İran gd:Ioràn gl:Irán - ایران gan:伊朗 gu:ઈરાન hak:Yî-làn xal:CapTa ИpaHMyдиH OpH ko:이란 ha:Iran haw:‘Ilana hy:Իրան hi:ईरान hsb:Iran hr:Iran io:Iran ilo:Iran bpy:ইরান id:Iran ia:Iran ie:Iran os:ИpaH zu:I-Irani is:Íran it:Iran he:איראן jv:Iran kl:Iran kn:ಇರಾನ್ pam:Iran ka:ირანი ks:ایٖران csb:Iran kk:ИpaH kw:Iran rw:Irani sw:Uajemi kv:ИpaH ht:Iran ku:Îran ky:ИpaH lad:Iran lbe:ИpaH la:Irania lv:Irāna lb:Iran lt:Iranas lij:Iran li:Iran ln:Iran jbo:iran lez:ИpaH lmo:Iran hu:Irán mk:ИpaH ml:ഇറാൻ mi:Īrāna mr:इराण xmf:ირანი arz:ايران mzn:ایران ms:Iran cdo:Ĭ-lāng mdf:ИpaH mn:ИpaH my:အီရန်နိုင်ငံ nah:Iran na:Iran nl:Iran nds-nl:Iran ne:इरान new:इरान ja:イラン nap:Iran ce:ИpaH pih:Eraan no:Iran nn:Iran nov:Iran oc:Iran mhr:ИpaH or:ଇରାନ uz:Eron pa:ਇਰਾਨ pnb:ایران pap:Iran ps:ايران km:អ៊ីរ៉ង់ pcd:Iran pms:Iran nds:Iran pl:Iran pt:Irão crh:İran ro:Iran rm:Iran qu:Iran rue:IpaH ru:ИpaH sah:ИpaaH se:Iran sa:ईरान sc:Iran sco:Iran stq:Iran sq:Irani scn:Iran si:ඉරානය simple:Iran ss:I-Irani sk:Irán sl:Iran szl:Iran so:Iiraan ckb:ئێران sr:ИpaH sh:Iran su:Iran fi:Iran sv:Iran tl:Iran ta:ஈரான் kab:Iran roa-tara:Iran tt:ИpaH te:ఇరాన్ th:ประเทศอิหร่าน tg:ЭpoH tr:İran tk:Eýran tw:Iran udm:ИpaH bug:Iran uk:IpaH ur:ایران ug:ئىران za:Iran vec:Iran vep:Iran vi:Iran vo:Lirän fiu-vro:Iraan wa:Iran zh-classical:伊朗 war:Iran wo:Iraan wuu:伊朗 yi:איראן yo:Ìránì zh-yue:伊朗 diq:İran zea:Iran bat-smg:Irans zh:伊朗 - Pages with broken file links - Iran - Developing 8 Countries member states - G15 nations - Iranian Plateau - Islamic republics - Islamic states - Member states of OPEC - Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation - Member states of the United Nations - Middle Eastern countries - Near Eastern countries - Persian Gulf countries - Persian-speaking countries and territories - Western Asia - Western Asian countries