Iran

Islamic Republic of Iran
جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Persian)
Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân
Motto: استقلال، آزادی، جمهوری اسلامی
Esteqlâl, Âzâdi, Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi
"Independence, freedom, the Islamic Republic"
(de facto)[1]
Anthem: سرود ملی جمهوری اسلامی ایران
Sorud-e Melli-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân
"National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran"
Capital
and largest city
Tehran
35°41′N 51°25′E / 35.683°N 51.417°E / 35.683; 51.417
Official languagesPersian
Recognised regional languages
Ethnic groups
(2003 estimate)[5]
Demonym(s)Iranian
GovernmentUnitary theocratic presidential Islamic republic
Ali Khamenei
• President
Ebrahim Raisi
Mohammad Mokhber
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i
Ahmad Jannati
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
LegislatureIslamic Consultative Assembly
Establishment history
c. 3200 BC
c. 678 BC
550 BC
247 BC
224 AD
819
934
1501
1736
1751
1796
15 December 1925
11 February 1979
3 December 1979
28 July 1989
Area
• Total
1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi) (17th)
• Water (%)
1.63 (as of 2015)[6]
Population
• 2023 estimate
87,590,873[7] (17th)
• Density
55/km2 (142.4/sq mi) (132nd)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $1.725 trillion[8] (19th)
• Per capita
Increase $19,942[8] (79th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $366.438 billion[8] (42nd)
• Per capita
Increase $4,234[8] (120th)
Gini (2019)40.9[9]
medium
HDI (2022)Increase 0.780[10]
high (78th)
CurrencyIranian rial (ریال) (IRR)
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)
Date formatyyyy/mm/dd (SH)
Driving sideright
Calling code+98
ISO 3166 codeIR
Internet TLD

Iran,[a] also known as Persia[b] and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI),[c] is a country located at the crossroads of West, Central and South Asia. It is bordered by Iraq to the west and Turkey to the northwest, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. With almost 90 million people in an area of 1.648 million square kilometres (0.64 million square miles), Iran ranks 17th in the world in both geographic size and population. The country is divided into five regions with 31 provinces. Its capital and largest city is Tehran, with around 16 million people in its metropolitan area; other major urban centres include Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, and Shiraz.

Iran is one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the Elamites in the fourth millennium BC. It was first unified by the Medes in the seventh century BC and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BC, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire, one of the largest empires in antiquity. Alexander the Great conquered the empire in the fourth century BC, and it was subsequently divided into several Hellenistic states. An Iranian rebellion established the Parthian Empire in the third century BC, which was succeeded in the third century AD by the Sasanian Empire. Arab Muslims conquered the region in the seventh century AD, leading to its Islamization. Iran became a major centre of Islamic culture and learning, and its culture, language, and customs spread across the Muslim world. A series of native Iranian Muslim dynasties ruled the country until the Seljuk and the Mongol conquests of the 11th to 14th centuries. In the 16th century, the native Safavids re-established a unified Iranian state with Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion, marking the beginning of modern Iranian history.

Under Nader Shah Afshar in the 18th century, Iran was a leading world power, though by the 19th century, it had lost significant territory through a series of conflicts with the Russian Empire. The early 20th century saw the Persian Constitutional Revolution, the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty, and efforts at modernization. Attempts to nationalise the country's vast fossil fuel supply led to an Anglo-American coup in 1953. After the Iranian Revolution, the monarchy was overthrown in 1979 and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established by Ruhollah Khomeini, who became the country's first supreme leader. Iran is officially governed as an Islamic Republic with a presidential system, albeit with ultimate authority vested in a theocratic supreme leader (rahbar), currently Ali Khamenei since Khomeini's death in 1989. The Iranian government is authoritarian and has attracted widespread criticism for its constraints and violations of human rights.

Iran is a major middle and regional power, due to its large reserves of fossil fuels, including the world's second largest natural gas supply, third largest proven oil reserves, its strategic location in the Asian continent, its military capabilities, its regional influence, and its role as the focal point of Shia Islam within the Middle East and the world. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the ECO, the OIC, the OPEC, the SCO, and a member of BRICS.[12] Owing it to its long history and rich cultural legacy, Iran is home to 27 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the 10th highest number in the world, and ranks 5th globally in the number inscriptions of Intangible Cultural Heritage, or human treasures.[13][14] The people of Iran are multicultural and comprise a wide variety of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.

  1. ^ Jeroen Temperman (2010). State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law: Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance. Brill. pp. 87–. ISBN 978-90-04-18148-9. The official motto of Iran is [the] Takbir ('God is the Greatest' or 'God is Great'). Transliteration Allahu Akbar. As referred to in art. 18 of the constitution of Iran (1979). The de facto motto however is: 'Independence, freedom, the Islamic Republic.'
  2. ^ "Iran – Languages". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference AO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference CIA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Tohidi 2009, p. 300.
  6. ^ "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Iran". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Iran)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Gini index". World Bank. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. p. 289. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Definition of IRAN". merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  12. ^ "BRICS to Grow as Saudi, Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia Join Ranks". Bloomberg.com. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  13. ^ "ایران در جایگاه پنجم جهانی ثبت آثار ناملموس در یونسکو قرار گرفت". Mehrnews. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  14. ^ "ایران در جایگاه پنجم جهانی ثبت آثار ناملموس در یونسکو قرار گرفت". Dolat. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.


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