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Iran

Iran
General information
Common nameIran
Local name{{lang|fa|{{line-height|2| }}}}
Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān
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Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān
Mottoاستقلال. آزادی. جمهوری اسلامی
Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic
Anthem
National Anthem of Islamic Republic of Iran (official)
  (De facto)
( )
CapitalTehran
Largest citycapital
Official languagesPersian
Spoken languagesPersian, Azeri, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Armenian, Kurdish, Lori, Balochi, Gilaki, Mazandarani, Arabic, Turkmen
DemonymIranian
Government
GovernmentUnitary state and Islamic republic
Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei
PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad
First Vice PresidentMohammad-Reza Rahimi
Speaker of the ParliamentAli Larijani
Chief JusticeSadeq Larijani
LegislatureIslamic Consultative Assembly
UnificationUnification
Median Empire625 BC
Safavid Empire1501
Islamic Republic1 April 1979
Current constitution24 October 1979
Geography
Total Area636372 sq mi (1648203.5 km2) (18th)
Water %0.7
Demography
Population Est.75330000 (17th)
Population census74700000 (2010)
Density (pop.)45/km2 (163rd) (116.6/sq mi)
Economy
GDP PPP$863.5 billion (2010)
GDP (PPP) per capita$10,864
GDP (nominal)$357.221 billion (2010)
GDP (nominal) per capita$4,740
Other information
Gini38 (2008) (medium)
HDI(+) 0.702 (2010) (high) (70th)
CurrencyRial (﷼) (IRR)
Time zoneIRST (UTC03:30)
- Summer (DST)Iran Daylight Time (IRDT) (UTC04:30)
Drives on theright
Internet TLD.ir, ایران.
Calling code98

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Iran (c-enaudio=En-us-Iran.oggɪˈrɑːn; -faʔiˈɾɒnIran_alborz, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran ( Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia (c-eniconˈpɜrʒə or c-enˈpɜrʃə). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.

The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1648195 km2 (1.648195E+12 m2), Iran has a population of around 78 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. 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, 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 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. 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 and Persian culture was adopted also by the Ghaznavids, Seljuk, Ilkhanid and Timurid rulers. The emergence in 1501 of the Safavid dynasty, which promoted Twelver Shia Islam 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. Iran officially became an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979, following the Iranian Revolution.

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.


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