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Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in
West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...
. It borders
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
to the west,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
, and
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
to the northwest, the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
to the north,
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
to the northeast,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
to the east,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
to the southeast, and the
Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...
and the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
to the south. With a
multi-ethnic The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mult ...
population of over 92 million in an area of , Iran ranks 17th globally in both geographic size and
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
. It is the sixth-largest country entirely in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and one of the world's most mountainous countries. Officially an
Islamic republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...
, Iran is divided into five regions with 31 provinces.
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
is the nation's
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
,
largest city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metrop ...
and
financial centre A financial centre (financial center in American English) or financial hub is a location with a significant concentration of commerce in financial services. The commercial activity that takes place in a financial centre may include banking, ...
. A cradle of civilisation, Iran has been inhabited since the
Lower Palaeolithic The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3.3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears ...
. The large part of Iran was first unified as a
political entity A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people organized for governance ...
by the
Medes The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...
under
Cyaxares Cyaxares was the third king of the Medes. He ascended to the throne in 625 BC, after his father Phraortes lost his life in a battle against the Assyrians, probably Ashurbanipal. Assyrian allies, the Scythians then ruled Media for 28 years befo ...
in the seventh century BCE, and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BCE, when
Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...
founded the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
, one of the largest in
ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...
.
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
conquered the empire in the fourth century BCE. An Iranian rebellion in the third century BCE established the
Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...
, which later liberated the country. In the third century CE, the Parthians were succeeded by the
Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
, whose era was considered a golden age in the history of Iranian civilisation.
Ancient Iran The history of Iran (also known as Name of Iran, Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and ...
saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, religion and administration. Once a centre for
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
, the Muslims conquered the region in the seventh century CE, leading to the
Islamization of Iran The Islamization of Iran began with the Muslim conquest of Iran, when the Rashidun Caliphate annexed the Sasanian Empire. It was a long process by which Islam, though initially rejected, eventually spread among the Persians and the other Irania ...
. The
literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
,
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, mathematics,
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
, astronomy and
art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
which had blossomed during the Sasanian era were renewed during the
Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of scientific, economic, and cultural flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign o ...
and
Iranian Intermezzo The Iranian Intermezzo, also called the Persian Renaissance, was a period in Iranian history marked by the rise to power of the first Iranian Muslim dynasties. Beginning nearly 200 years after the Arab conquest of Iran and lasting until the mi ...
, when a series of
Iranian Muslim dynasties Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
ended Arab rule, revived the
Persian language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...
and ruled the country. This era was followed by the
Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...
and Khwarazmian rule,
Mongol conquests The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
and
Timurid Renaissance The Timurid Renaissance was a historical period in Asian history, Asian and Islamic history spanning the late 14th, the 15th, and the early 16th centuries. Following the Islamic Golden Age, the Timurid Empire, based in Central Asia and ruled by ...
from 11th to 14th centuries. In the 16th century, the native
Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...
re-established a unified Iranian state with Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion. During the
Afsharid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly referred to as Afsharid Iran or the Afsharid Empire, was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, establishing the Afsharid dynasty that w ...
in the 18th century, Iran was a leading world power, but this was no longer the case after the
Qajars The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's ''Majlis'', conveni ...
took power in the 1790s. The early 20th century saw the
Persian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar Iran, Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a Majl ...
and the establishment of the
Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty () is an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian royal dynasty that was the Pahlavi Iran, last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was abolished by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, Reza S ...
by
Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...
, who ousted the last Qajar Shah in 1925. Attempts by
Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh (, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 1950 Iranian legislative election, 16th Majlis. He was a membe ...
to nationalise the oil industry led to a Anglo-American coup in 1953. After the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
, the monarchy was overthrown in 1979 and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established by
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
, who became the country's first
supreme leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...
. In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, sparking the eight-year-long
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
, which ended in a stalemate. Iran is officially governed as a
unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigr ...
Islamic republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...
with a
presidential system A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system (sometimes also congressional system) is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled " president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and l ...
, with ultimate authority vested in a supreme leader. The government is
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
and has attracted widespread criticism for its significant violations of
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
and civil liberties. Iran is a major
regional power In international relations, regional power, since the late 20thcentury, has been used for a sovereign state that exercises significant power within its geographical region.Joachim Betz, Ian Taylor"The Rise of (New) Regional Powers in Asia, ...
, due to its large reserves of
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s, including the world's second largest natural gas supply, third largest proven oil reserves, its geopolitically significant location, military capabilities,
cultural hegemony In Marxist philosophy, cultural hegemony is the dominance of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class who shape the culture of that society—the beliefs and explanations, perceptions, values, and mores—so that the worldview of the rul ...
, regional influence, and role as the world's focal point of
Shia Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...
. The Iranian economy is the world's 23rd-largest by PPP. Iran is a founding member of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, OIC,
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize Profit (eco ...
, and ECO as well as a current member of the NAM, SCO, and
BRICS BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign ...
. Iran is home to 28
UNESCO World Heritage Sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
, the 10th highest in the world, and ranks 5th in
intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...
, or human treasures.


Etymology

The term ''
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
'' derives from
Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
, first attested in a 3rd-century inscription at
Naqsh-e Rostam Naqsh-e Rostam (; , ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 13 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the face of the mountain and the mount ...
, with the accompanying
Parthian Parthian may refer to: Historical * Parthian people * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery sk ...
inscription using , in reference to the Iranians. and are oblique plural forms of gentilic nouns ''ēr-'' (Middle Persian) and ''ary-'' (Parthian), deriving from
Proto-Iranian language Proto-Iranian or Proto-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family and thus the ancestor of the Iranian languages such as Persian, Pashto, Sogdian, Zazaki, Ossetian, Mazandar ...
''*arya-'' (meaning '
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
', i.e. of the Iranians), recognised as a derivative of
Proto-Indo-European language Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Eu ...
', meaning . According to Iranian mythology, the name comes from
Iraj Iraj (; Pahlavi: ērič; from Avestan: , literally "Aryan") is the seventh Shah of the Pishdadian dynasty, depicted in the ''Shahnameh''. Based on Iranian mythology, he is the youngest son of Fereydun. He was killed by his brothers Salm and ...
, a legendary king. Iran was referred to as ''Persia'' by
the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NAT ...
, due to
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
historians who referred to all of Iran as , meaning 'the land of the
Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...
'. ''Persia'' is the
Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...
in southwest Iran, the 4th largest province, also known as ''Pârs''. The
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
''Fârs'' (فارس), derived from the earlier form ''Pârs'' (پارس), which is in turn derived from ''Pârsâ'' (
Old Persian Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...
: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿). Due to Fars' historical importance, ''Persia'' originated from this territory through Greek in around 550 BC. Westerners referred to the entire country as ''Persia'', until 1935, when
Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...
requested the international community to use its native and original name, ''Iran''; Iranians called their nation ''Iran'' since at least 1000 BC. Today, both ''Iran'' and ''Persia'' are used culturally, while ''Iran'' remains mandatory in official use. The Persian pronunciation of ''Iran'' is .
Commonwealth English The use of the English language in current and former Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, countries of Commonwealth of Nations, the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British Empire, British colonisation, with some exceptions. Eng ...
pronunciations of ''Iran'' are listed in the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'' as and , while
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
dictionaries provide pronunciations which map to , or . The ''
Cambridge Dictionary The ''Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary'' (abbreviated ''CALD'') is a British dictionary of the English language. It was first published in 1995 under the title ''Cambridge International Dictionary of English'' by the Cambridge Univer ...
'' lists as the British pronunciation and as the American pronunciation.
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...
's pronunciation guide provides .


History


Antiquity

Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilisations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC.People, "New evidence: modern civilization began in Iran", 10 Aug 2007
, retrieved 1 October 2007
The western part of the Iranian plateau participated in the traditional
ancient Near East The ancient Near East was home to many cradles of civilization, spanning Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran (or Persia), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Nea ...
with
Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
(3200–539 BC), and later with other peoples such as the
Kassites The Kassites () were a people of the ancient Near East. They controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire from until (short chronology). The Kassites gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon in 1531 B ...
,
Mannaea Mannaea (, sometimes written as Mannea; Akkadian: ''Mannai'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Minni'', (מנּי)) was an ancient kingdom located in northwestern Iran, south of Lake Urmia, around the 10th to 7th centuries BCE. It neighbored Assyria and Urart ...
ns, and
Gutians The Guti (), also known by the derived exonyms Gutians or Guteans, were a people of the ancient Near East who both appeared and disappeared during the Bronze Age. Their homeland was known as Gutium (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , ''GutūmKI'' o ...
. The
Median dynasty The Median dynasty was, according to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, a dynasty composed of four kings who ruled for 150 years under the Median Empire. If Herodotus' story is accurate, the Medes were unified by a man named Deioces, the firs ...
ruled the earliest Iranian state. In 612 BC,
Cyaxares Cyaxares was the third king of the Medes. He ascended to the throne in 625 BC, after his father Phraortes lost his life in a battle against the Assyrians, probably Ashurbanipal. Assyrian allies, the Scythians then ruled Media for 28 years befo ...
and the
Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
ian king
Nabopolassar Nabopolassar (, meaning "Nabu, protect the son") was the founder and first king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from his coronation as king of Babylon in 626 BC to his death in 605 BC. Though initially only aimed at restoring and securing ...
invaded Assyria and laid siege to and destroyed
Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...
, the Assyrian capital, which led to the fall of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew to dominate the ancient Near East and parts of South Caucasus, Nort ...
.
Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...
was later on conquered and dissolved as well by the Medes.


Achaemenid Empire

The Achaemenids united all
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
tribes under
Cyrus I Cyrus I (Old Persian language, Old Persian: ''Kuruš'') or Cyrus I of Anshan or Cyrus I of Persia, was King of Anshan (Persia), Anshan in Persia from to 580 BC or, according to others, from to 600 BC. Cyrus I of Anshan is the grandfather of C ...
's son
Cambyses I Cambyses I ( ''Kambūjiya'') was king of Anshan from c. 580 to 559 BC and the father of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II), younger son of Cyrus I, and brother of Arukku. He should not be confused with his better-known grandson Cambyses ...
. Under Cambyses I's son,
Cyrus II Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...
, the Achaemenids defeated the Medes and established the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
, the largest ever Iranian state. He conquered the
Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...
n and
Neo-Babylonian The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to ancient Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC ...
empires, creating an empire far larger than Assyria. He was better able, through more benign policies, to reconcile his subjects to Persian rule; the longevity of his empire was one result. The Persian king, like the
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
n, was also "
King of Kings King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...
", ''xšāyaθiya xšāyaθiyānām'' – "great king", Megas Basileus, as known by the
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
. Cyrus's son, the
Cambyses II Cambyses II () was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning 530 to 522 BCE. He was the son of and successor to Cyrus the Great (); his mother was Cassandane. His relatively brief reign was marked by his conquests in North Afric ...
(530–522 BC), conquered the last major power of the region,
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
, causing the collapse of the
Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) was the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although other brief periods of rule by Egyptians followed). T ...
. After the death of Cambyses II, the
Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...
(522–486) ascended the throne by overthrowing the Achaemenid monarch
Bardiya Bardiya or Smerdis ( ; ; possibly died 522 BCE), also named as Tanyoxarces (; ) by Ctesias, was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both Persian kings. There are sharply divided views on his life. Bardiya eithe ...
. Darius' first capital was at Susa, and he started the building program at
Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
. He improved the extensive road system, and during his reign mentions are first made of the
Royal Road The Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt for trade by Darius the Great, the Achaemenid emperor, in the 5th century BC. Darius I built the road to facilitate rapid communication on the western part of his large empire from ...
, a great highway stretching from Susa to
Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
. In 499 BC,
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
lent support to a revolt in
Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...
, which resulted in the sacking of
Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
. This led to an Achaemenid campaign against mainland Greece known as the
Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Polis, Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world ...
, which lasted the first half of the 5th century BC, and is known as one of the most important wars in
European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early Eu ...
. In the
First Persian invasion of Greece The first Persian invasion of Greece took place from 492 BC to 490 BC, as part of the Greco-Persian Wars. It ended with a decisive Classical Athens, Athenian-led victory over the Achaemenid Empire during the Battle of Marathon. Consistin ...
, the Persian general Mardonius re-subjugated Thrace and made Macedon a full part of Persia. The war eventually turned out in defeat. Darius' successor
Xerxes I Xerxes I ( – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was a List of monarchs of Persia, Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. He was ...
(486–465) launched the
Second Persian invasion of Greece The second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC) occurred during the Greco-Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to the defeat of the first Persian invasi ...
. At a crucial moment in the war, about half of mainland Greece was overrun by the Persians, including territories to the north of the Isthmus of
Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...
. This was reversed by a Greek victory, following the battles of
Plataea Plataea (; , ''Plátaia'') was an ancient Greek city-state situated in Boeotia near the frontier with Attica at the foot of Mt. Cithaeron, between the mountain and the river Asopus, which divided its territory from that of Thebes. Its inhab ...
and Salamis, by which Persia lost its footholds in Europe, and withdrew from it. The empire entered a period of decline. From 334 BC to 331 BC,
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
defeated
Darius III Darius III ( ; ; – 330 BC) was the thirteenth and last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC. Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Darius was a distant member of the Achaemenid dynasty. ...
(336–330 BC) in the battles of Granicus, Issus and
Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela ( ; ), also called the Battle of Arbela (), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Ancient Macedonian army, Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Army, Persian Army under Darius III, ...
, swiftly conquering the Achaemanid Empire by 331 BC. Alexander's empire broke up after his death, and Alexander's general,
Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ, ''Séleukos Nikátōr'', "Seleucus the Victorious"; ) was a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to fo ...
, tried to take control of Iran,
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
, and later
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. His empire was the
Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...
.


The Parthian and Sasanian Empires

The Arsacids of
Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...
, initially Seleucid vassals, originated as leaders of the Iranian
Parni The Parni (; , ''Parnoi''), Aparni (; Ἄπαρνοι, ''Aparnoi'') or Parnians were an East Iranian people who lived around the Ochus ( ''Okhos'') ( Tejen) River, southeast of the Caspian Sea in Central Asia. It is believed that their origina ...
tribe in the northeastern steppes. The Parthians gradually challenged Seleucid rule over Iran. Parthian control of Iran was secured through the 142 BC conquest of
Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
. Although fighting continued for years, the death of
Antiochus VII Sidetes Antiochus VII Euergetes (; 164/160 BC129 BC), nicknamed Sidetes () (from Side, a city in Asia Minor), also known as Antiochus the Pious, was ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from July/August 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king ...
in 129 BC effectively marked the collapse of the Seleucid Empire, which then lingered on as a
rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state that was reduced in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case, a government st ...
in Syria until conquered by the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
in the 60s BC. The Parthian empire endured for five centuries, but civil wars destabilized it. Parthian power evaporated when
Ardashir I Ardashir I (), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire, the last empire of ancient Iran. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new empire. After defeating the last Par ...
, ruler of
Istakhr Istakhr (Middle Persian romanized: ''Stakhr'', ) was an ancient city in Fars province, north of Persepolis in southwestern Iran. It flourished as the capital of the Persian '' Frataraka'' governors and Kings of Persis from the third century BC t ...
in
Persis Persis (, ''Persís;'' Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, ''Parsa''), also called Persia proper, is a historic region in southwestern Iran, roughly corresponding with Fars province. The Persian ethnic group are thought to have initially migrated ...
, revolted against the Arsacids and killed their last ruler, Artabanus IV, in 224 AD. Ardashir established the
Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
, which ruled Iran and much of Near East before the
Muslim conquests The Muslim conquests, Muslim invasions, Islamic conquests, including Arab conquests, Arab Islamic conquests, also Iranian Muslim conquests, Turkic Muslim conquests etc. *Early Muslim conquests ** Ridda Wars **Muslim conquest of Persia *** Muslim co ...
of the 7th century AD. At their zenith, the Sasanians controlled all of modern-day Iran and
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and parts of the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...
, as well as the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
, the
Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
, and parts of
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
and
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
. One of the high points in the history of Iranian civilization, the Sasanian Empire was characterized by a complex and centralized government bureaucracy and the revitalization of
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
as a legitimizing and unifying ideal. This period saw the construction of many grand monuments, public works, and patronized cultural and educational institutions. Under the Sasanians, Iran's cultural influence spread far beyond the physical territory that it controlled, impacting regions as distant as
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
,
Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
, and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.


Medieval period

Most of the Sasanian Empire's lifespan was overshadowed by the frequent Byzantine–Sasanian wars, a continuation of the
Roman–Parthian Wars The Roman–Parthian Wars (54 BC – 217 AD) were a series of conflicts between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. It was the first series of conflicts in what would be 682 years of Roman–Persian Wars. Battles ...
. These wars weakened the empire and contributed to the
Islamic conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...
. The
Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...
conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. Over time, the majority of Iranians converted to Islam. Most of the aspects of the previous Persian civilizations were not discarded but were absorbed by the new
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic polity. As
Bernard Lewis Bernard Lewis, (31 May 1916 – 19 May 2018) was a British-American historian specialized in Oriental studies. He was also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near ...
has commented: "These events have been variously seen in Iran: by some as a blessing, the advent of the true faith, the end of the age of ignorance and heathenism; by others as a humiliating national defeat, the conquest and subjugation of the country by foreign invaders. Both perceptions are of course valid, depending on one's angle of vision."


Early Islamic rule and regional resistance in Iran

After the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651, the
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
of the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...
adopted many Persian customs, especially the administrative and the court mannerisms. Arab provincial governors were undoubtedly either Persianized
Arameans The Arameans, or Aramaeans (; ; , ), were a tribal Semitic people in the ancient Near East, first documented in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. Their homeland, often referred to as the land of Aram, originally covered c ...
or ethnic Persians; certainly Persian remained the language of official business of the caliphate until the adoption of Arabic toward the end of the seventh century. However, all of Iran was still not under Arab control, and the region of
Daylam Daylam (), also known in the plural form Daylaman () (and variants such as Dailam, Deylam, and Deilam), was the name of a mountainous region of inland Gilan, Iran. It was so named for its inhabitants, known as the Daylamites. The Church of the Ea ...
was under the control of the Daylamites, while Tabaristan was under Dabuyid dynasty, Dabuyid and Paduspanids, Paduspanid control, and the Mount Damavand region under Masmughans of Damavand. The Arabs had invaded these regions several times but achieved no decisive result because of the inaccessible terrain of the regions. The most prominent ruler of the Dabuyids, known as Farrukhan the Great (712–728), managed to hold his domains during his long struggle against the Arab general Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, who was defeated by a combined Daylamite–Dabuyid army, and was forced to retreat from Tabaristan.


The Abbasid Revolution and Iranian Renaissance

Anti-Umayyad insurrections were supported by non-Arab converts to Islam, who were resentful over being relegated to lower social standing. In 747–750, one of these insurrections grew into the Abbasid revolution, in which the Umayyads were replaced with the Abbasid dynasty, Abbasids, descendants of Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Abbas. The political authority of the Abbasid caliphs diminished over the course of the ninth and tenth centuries. In Iran, this led to the establishment of several independent Iranian dynasties, the ousting of Arabs from their scattered bastions across the country, and an Iranian cultural renaissance. The period between the collapse of Abbasid authority and the conquest of Iran by the Seljuk Empire, Seljuk Turks in the eleventh century is referred to as the "Iranian Intermezzo". The Iranian Intermezzo saw the rise and fall of several major and minor dynasties. Among the most important of these overlapping dynasties were the Tahirid dynasty, Tahirids in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan (821–873); the Saffarid dynasty, Saffarids in Sistan (861–1003, their rule lasted as maliks of Sistan until 1537); and the Samanid Empire, Samanids (819–1005), originally at Bukhara. The Samanids eventually ruled an area from central Iran to Pakistan. By the early 10th century, the Abbasids almost lost control to the growing Iranian faction known as the Buyid dynasty (934–1062). Since much of the Abbasid administration had been Persian anyway, the Buyids were quietly able to assume real power in Baghdad. The Buyids were defeated in the mid-11th century by the Seljuk Empire, Seljuq Turks, who continued to exert influence over the Abbasids.


Islamization and Persianization

Islamization was a long process by which
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
was gradually adopted by the majority population of Iran. As Persian Muslims consolidated their rule of the country, the Muslim population rose from approximately 40% in the mid-9th century to close to 90% by the end of the 11th century. Seyyed Hossein Nasr suggests that the rapid increase in conversion was aided by the Persian nationality of the rulers. Although Persians adopted the religion of their conquerors, over the centuries they worked to protect and revive their distinctive language and culture, a process known as Persianization. Arabs and Turks participated in this attempt.''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Seljuq", Online Edition,
LINK
)


The Seljuks and the Mongol invasions

From the empire's inception, the Seljuk rulers minted coins with the title ''šāhānšāh'' () in its Persian form, perhaps adopting it from the Buyids. The Seljuk Empire fractured after the death of Ahmad Sanjar in 1157 and its vassals became effectively independent. One of these vassals was the Anushtegin dynasty, which ruled the Khwarazm region. The ruling dynasty were descendants of Anushtegin Gharchai, a former Turkic slave of the Seljuq sultans. In 1194, the Khwarazmian ruler Ala al-Din Tekish, Tekish conquered western Iran and Iraq from the remnants of the Seljuk Empire. The Khwarazmian rulers used the ancient title Khwarazmshah, ''xwârazmšāh'', traditionally held by Iranian rulers of Khwarazm. Konye-Urgench, Urganj was the Khwarazmian capital. In the early thirteenth century, the Mongols reached Iran. The region around Bukhara was conquered in 1220 and the Khwarazmian Empire was destroyed. Over the following decades, further conquests followed in the Middle East, culminating in the Siege of Baghdad, fall of Baghdad and end of the Abbasid Caliphate's rule there in 1258.


The Ilkhanate and aftermath

After the death of Möngke Khan, the Mongol Empire was fractured by civil war, both over the succession of the next Great Khan and between nomadic traditionalists and the new settled princes of China and the Middle East. Kublai Khan (1260–1294) was eventually universally recognized but the empire was irreversibly fragmented. In much of the south-west of the empire, including Iran, power fell to Hulegu Khan, who had been made a deputy there under Möngke Khan. Hulegu was swiftly accepted as a legitimate ruler in Iran and was further legitimized through a ''fatwa'' issued by the Shia scholar Ali ibn Tawus al-Hilli. Iran experienced a cultural renaissance under Ilkhanid rule. Ghazan Khan (1295–1304) converted to Islam in the late thirteenth century, turning the state further away from the other Mongol realms. After Ghazan's nephew Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, Abu Said died in 1335, however, the Ilkhanate lapsed into civil war and was divided between several petty dynasties – most prominently the Jalayirids, Muzaffarids (Iran), Muzaffarids, Sarbadars and Kartids. The mid-14th-century Black Death killed about 30% of the country's population.


Timur and the rise of new powers

Iran remained divided until the arrival of Timur (1370–1405), who was of Turkification, Turkified Mongols, Mongol origin and the founder of Timurid dynasty. Like its predecessors, the Timurid Empire was also part of the Persianate world. After establishing a power base in Transoxiana, Timur invaded Iran in 1381 and eventually conquered most of it. Timur's campaigns were known for their brutality; many people were slaughtered and several cities were destroyed.This section incorporates text from the public domain Library of Congress Country Studies.
His successors, the Timurids, maintained a hold on most of Iran until 1452, when they lost the bulk of Qara Qoyunlu. The Qara Qoyunlu were conquered by the Aq Qoyunlu under Uzun Hasan in 1468; Uzun Hasan and his successors were the masters of Iran until the rise of the Safavids.


Early modern period

Often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, the Safavids establish the basis for the modern nation-state of Iran. The rule of the dynasty founded by Ismail I (1501–1524) was one of the most important periods in Iranian history in terms of remaking Iran as a separate entity and making the Shia Islam as the official religion. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722, experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736. At their height, they controlled all of modern Iran,
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
and
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
, most of Georgia (country), Georgia, the North Caucasus,
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, Kuwait and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, as well as parts of
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
,
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
and Uzbekistan. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic "Gunpowder Empires, gunpowder empires", along with its neighbours, its archrival and principal enemy the Ottoman Empire, and to the east, the Mughal Empire. The Safavid state was one of checks and balance, both within the government and on a local level. At the apex of this system was the Shah, with total power over the state, legitimized by his bloodline as a sayyid, or descendant of Muhammad. So absolute was his power, that the French merchant, and later ambassador to Iran, Jean Chardin thought the Safavid Shahs ruled their land with an iron fist and often in a despotic manner.


Collapse of the Safavid Empire and successor dynasties

Complex rivalries in the region of Greater Khorasan, Khorasan led to the Afghan Hotak dynasty invading Iran. In 1722, this conflict led to the collapse of the Safavid Empire after the siege of Isfahan. The brief interlude between 1722 and the rise of the Qajar dynasty in 1789–1796 was marked by widespread political turmoil in Iran and several rival attempts to establish power over the country. The Safavids failed to regain power and the Hotaks failed to establish control. The rival Afsharid Iran, Afsharid and Zand dynasty, Zand dynasties were established by Nader Shah (1736–1747) and Karim Khan Zand, Karim Khan (1751–1779), respectively.


Nader Shah and the shifting balance of power

Nader Shah has been described as "the last great Asiatic military conqueror". Some historians have described him as the ''Napoleon of Persia'', the ''Sword of Persia'', or the ''Second Alexander the Great, Alexander''. His numerous campaigns created a great empire that, at its maximum extent, briefly encompassed all or part of modern-day Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Oman, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, the North Caucasus, and the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
, but his military spending had a ruinous effect on the Iranian economy. Nader Shah's death was followed by a Division of the Afsharid Empire, period of anarchy in Iran as rival army commanders fought for power. Nader's own family, the Afsharids, were soon reduced to holding on to a small domain in Khorasan. The Zand dynasty, Zand family seized control of much of Iran in the 1750s. Established by the tribal leader Karim Khan Zand, the Zand rulers never proclaimed themselves to be ''shah''s.' Instead, they presented themselves as regents of Iran, at first on behalf of the Safavid puppet Ismail III (1750–1773) and then on behalf of the Iranian people.'


Rise of the Qajar dynasty and foreign interference

The Qajar dynasty originated as a local Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman noble family in northern Iran, under the Safavids. The Qajars gradually increased in power as other families fought each other in Iran, culminating in Agha Mohammad Shah proclaiming himself ruler in 1789, in opposition to the Afsharids and Zands. Agha Mohammad defeated the Zand dynasty in 1794 and was officially crowned in 1796. Shortly thereafter, he captured and deposed the Afsharid Shahrokh Shah, reunifying Iran under a single ruler. In the 19th century, Iran lost significant territories in the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
to the Russian Empire following the Russo-Persian Wars. At the same time, United Kingdom, Britain became increasingly involved in southern Iran, wishing to provide a counterweight to Russia's presence in the north, which posed a threat to British India. This was solidified by the establishment of the Indo-European Telegraph Department in the 1860s; and the Imperial Bank of Persia by an English company in 1889. By the end of the 19th century, this dominance had become so pronounced that Iran's central government in Tehran required Anglo-Russian approval for ministerial appointments.


20th century up to the Iranian Revolution


Constitutional Revolution and the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty

The
Persian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar Iran, Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a Majl ...
between 1905-11 led to the establishment of an Iranian parliament. After the 1921 Persian coup d'état, 1921 coup d'état, the Qajar dynasty was replaced with the
Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty () is an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian royal dynasty that was the Pahlavi Iran, last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was abolished by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, Reza S ...
.
Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...
ruled for almost 16 years until 1941, when he was forced to Abdication, abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. He established an authoritarianism, authoritarian government that valued Iranian nationalism, nationalism, militarism, secularism in Iran, secularism and anti-communism combined with strict censorship and state propaganda. Reza Shah introduced many socio-economic reforms, reorganizing the army, government administration, and finances. To his supporters, his reign brought "law and order, discipline, central authority, and modern amenities – schools, trains, buses, radios, cinemas, and telephones".Ervand, ''History of Modern Iran'', (2008), p.91 However, his attempts of modernisation have been criticised for being "too fast" and "superficial", and his reign a time of "oppression, corruption, taxation, lack of authenticity" with "security typical of police states."


World War II and post-occupation instability

While Operation Barbarossa, German armies were highly successful against the Soviet Union in World War II, Soviet Union, the Iranian government expected Germany to win the war and establish a powerful force on its borders. It rejected British and Soviet demands to expel German residents from Iran. In response, the two Allies of World War II, Allies Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, invaded in August 1941 and easily overwhelmed the weak Iranian army in ''Operation Countenance''. Iran became the major conduit of Allied Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union. The purpose was to secure Iranian oil fields and ensure Allied supply lines, through the ''Persian Corridor''. Iran remained officially neutral. Rezā Shāh was deposed during the subsequent occupation and replaced with his young son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Initially, there were hopes that post-occupation Iran could become a constitutional monarchy. The new, young Shah took a very hands-off role in government, and allowed parliament to hold a lot of power. Some elections were held in the first shaky years, although they remained mired in corruption. Parliament became chronically unstable. From 1947 to 1951, Iran saw the rise and fall of six prime ministers.


Mosaddeq and the Shah's rule

In 1951, Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq received the vote required from the parliament to nationalize the British-owned oil industry, in a situation known as the Abadan Crisis. Despite British pressure, including an economic blockade, the nationalization continued. Mosaddeq was removed from power in 1952, but quickly re-appointed by the Shah, due to a popular uprising in support of the premier. He forced the Shah into a brief exile in August 1953 after a failed military coup by Imperial Guard (Iran), Imperial Guard Colonel Nematollah Nassiri. On 19 August a successful Coup d'état, coup was headed by retired army general Fazlollah Zahedi, aided by the US (CIA) with the active support of the British (MI6), known as 1953 Iranian coup d'état, Operation Ajax and Operation Boot to the respective agencies. The coup—with a black propaganda campaign designed to turn the population against Mosaddeq — forced Mosaddeq from office. Mosaddeq was arrested and tried for treason. Found guilty, his sentence was reduced to house arrest on his family estate while his foreign minister, Hossein Fatemi, was executed. Fazlollah Zahedi, Zahedi succeeded him as prime minister, and suppressed opposition to the Shah, specifically the National Front (Iran), National Front and Communist Tudeh Party. Iran was ruled as an autocracy under the Shah with American support from that time until the revolution. Iran initiated economic, social, agrarian and administrative reforms to modernize the country that became known as the Shah's White Revolution.


The Islamic Revolution and contemporary period

The Iranian Revolution transformed Iran from an absolute monarchy to an
Islamic republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...
under Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
, a leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic. The revolution included the approval of the new theocratic Constitution—whereby Ayatollah Khomeini became Supreme Leader of Iran, Supreme Leader—in December 1979. Iran's modernising, capitalist economy was replaced by populist and Islamic economic and cultural policies. Much industry was nationalized, laws and schools Islamicized, and Western influences banned.


War and leadership transition

Khomeini served as Supreme Leader of Iran from 1979 to his death on 3 June 1989. An event with long-term impact was the Iran hostage crisis. Following the admission of the former Shah of Iran into the US for cancer treatment, on 4 November 1979, Iranian students seized US embassy personnel, labeling the embassy a "den of spies."PBS, American Experience, Jimmy Carter, "444 Days: America Reacts"
, retrieved 1 October 2007
52 hostages were held for 444 days until January 1981. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein attempted to take advantage of the disorder of the Revolution, the weakness of the Iranian military and the revolution's antagonism with Western governments. On 22 September 1980, the Iraqi army invaded Iran at Khuzestan, precipitating the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
. The attack took revolutionary Iran by surprise. Although Hussein's forces made early advances, Iranian forces pushed the Iraqi army back into Iraq by 1982. Khomeini sought to export of revolution, export the revolution westward into Iraq, especially on the majority Shi'a Arabs living in Iraq. The war continued until 1988, when Khomeini, in his words, "drank the cup of poison" and accepted a truce mediated by the UN. On his deathbed in 1989, Khomeini appointed a 25-man Constitutional Reform Council which named then president Ali Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader, and made changes to Iran's constitution. A smooth transition followed Khomeini's death on 3 June 1989. While Khamenei lacked Khomeini's "charisma and clerical standing", he developed a network of supporters within Iran's armed forces and its economically powerful Bonyad, religious foundations."Who's in Charge?" by Ervand Abrahamian ''London Review of Books'', 6 November 2008


Since the 1990s

In 1989, President Akbar Rafsanjani concentrated on a pro-business policy of rebuilding the economy, without breaking with the ideology of the revolution. He supported a free market, favouring privatization, privatisation of state industries and a moderate position internationally. In 1997, Rafsanjani was succeeded by moderate Iranian reform movement, reformist Mohammad Khatami, whose government advocated Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, constructive diplomatic relations with Asia and the European Union, and policy that supported a free market and foreign investment. The 2005 Iranian presidential election, 2005 presidential election brought conservative populist and nationalist candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. He was known for his hardline views, nuclearisation, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel, hostility towards Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UK, US and other states. He was the first president to be summoned by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, parliament to answer questions regarding his presidency. In 2013, centrist and reformist Hassan Rouhani was elected president. He encouraged personal freedom, free access to information, and improved women's rights. He improved Iran's diplomatic relations through exchanging conciliatory letters. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was reached in Vienna in 2015, between Iran, the P5+1 (permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, UN Security Council + Germany) and the EU. The negotiations centred around ending the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929, economic sanctions in exchange for Iran's restriction in producing enriched uranium. In 2018, the US under First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump Administration withdrew from the deal and new sanctions were imposed. This nulled the economic provisions and brought Iran to nuclear latency, nuclear threshold status. In 2020, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC general, Qasem Soleimani, the 2nd-most powerful person in Iran, was Assassination of Qasem Soleimani, assassinated by the US, heightening Iran–United States relations, tensions between them.Carolien Roelants, Iran expert of ''NRC Handelsblad'', in a debate on ''Buitenhof (TV series), Buitenhof'' on Dutch television, 5 January 2020. Operation Martyr Soleimani, Iran retaliated against US airbases in Iraq, the largest ballistic missile attack ever on Americans; 110 sustained Traumatic brain injury, brain injuries. Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi ran for president again in 2021 Iranian presidential election, 2021, succeeding Hassan Rouhani. During Raisi's term, Iran Nuclear program of Iran, intensified uranium enrichment, hindered international inspections, joined SCO and BRICS, Iran and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supported Russia in its Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine invasion and restored diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. In April 2024, the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killed an IRGC commander. Iran April 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel, retaliated with Unmanned aerial vehicle, UAVs, Cruise missile, cruise and ballistic missiles; 9 hit Israel. It was the largest drone strike in history, biggest missile attack in Iranian history, its first ever direct attack on Israel and the first time 1991 Iraqi missile attacks against Israel, since 1991, Israel was directly attacked by a state force. This occurred during heightened tensions amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israel conducted April 2024 Israeli strikes on Iran, retaliation the same month. In May 2024, President Raisi was killed in a 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, helicopter crash, and Iran held a 2024 Iranian presidential election, presidential election in June, when reformist and former Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Minister of Health, Masoud Pezeshkian, was elected. On 1 October 2024, Iran October 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel, launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for assassinations Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, of Ismail Haniyeh, 2024 Hezbollah headquarters strike, Hassan Nasrallah and Abbas Nilforoushan. On 27 October, Israel October 2024 Israeli strikes on Iran, responded by striking Iranian military sites. Iran's economic struggles, and the collapse of its Axis of Resistance, key allies and proxies beginning in 2023—Syria's Assad regime, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza Strip, Gaza—during the Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present), Middle Eastern hostilities that began with Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel, has left the Iranian regime weakened and isolated. In early 2025, Iran was rapidly advancing its nuclear program. Analysts warned such activity exceeded any plausible civilian justification. Beginning in April, Iran and the US 2025 United States–Iran negotiations, entered negotiations for a new nuclear agreement, but progress stalled as Iran declared domestic uranium enrichment a red line. In June, IAEA found Iran non-compliant with its nuclear obligations for the first time in two decades. In response, Iran announced the activation of a new enrichment facility. On 13 June, Israel June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran, launched strikes across Iran, targeting nuclear facilities and killing top members of Iran's military leadership. June 2025 Iranian strikes on Israel, Iran responded by missile strikes, resulting in a Israel – Iran war, direct conflict between the two countries.


Geography

Iran has an area of . It is the List of Asian countries by area, sixth-largest country entirely in Asia and the second-largest in West Asia. It lies between latitudes 24th parallel north, 24° and 40th parallel north, 40° N, and longitudes 44th meridian east, 44° and 64th meridian east, 64° E. It is bordered to the northwest by
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
(), the Azeri exclave of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Nakhchivan (), and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan (); to the north by the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
; to the northeast by
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
(); to the east by
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
() and Pakistan (); to the south by the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and the
Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...
; and to the west by
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
() and Turkey (). Iran is in a seismically active area. On average, an earthquake of magnitude seven on the Richter scale occurs once every ten years. Most earthquakes are shallow-focus and can be very devastating, such as the 2003 Bam earthquake. Iran consists of the Iranian Plateau. It is one of the world's most mountainous countries; its landscape is dominated by rugged mountain ranges that separate drainage basin, basins or plateaus. The populous west part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the Caucasus Mountains, Caucasus, Zagros Mountains, Zagros, and Alborz, the last containing Mount Damavand, Iran's highest point, at , which is the highest volcano in Asia. Iran's mountains have impacted its politics and economics for centuries. The north part is covered by the lush lowland Hyrcanian forests, Caspian Hyrcanian forests, near the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. The east part consists mostly of desert basins, such as the Dasht-e Kavir, Kavir Desert, which is the country's largest desert, and the Dasht-e Loot, Lut Desert, as well as salt lakes. The Lut Desert is the hottest recorded spot on the Earth's surface, with 70.7 °C recorded in 2005. The only large plains are found along the coast of the Caspian and at the north end of the Persian Gulf, where Iran borders the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, Arvand river. Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along the remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman.


Islands

Iranian islands are mainly located in the Persian Gulf. Iran has 102 islands in Lake Urmia, Urmia Lake, 427 in Aras (river), Aras River, several in Anzali Lagoon, Ashuradeh, Ashurade Island in the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
, Sheytan Island in the Gulf of Oman, Oman Sea and other inland islands. Iran has an uninhabited island at the far end of the
Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...
, near Pakistan. A few islands can be visited by tourists. Most are owned by the military or used for wildlife protection. Entry is prohibited or requires a permit. Seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, Iran took control of Abu Musa, Bumusa, and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs in 1971, in the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Despite the islands being small and having little natural resources or population, they are highly valuable for their strategic location. Although the United Arab Emirates claims sovereignty, it has consistently been met with a strong response from Iran, based on their historical and cultural background. Iran has full control over the islands. Kish Island, Kish island, as a Free-trade zone, free trade zone, is touted as a consumer's paradise, with malls, shopping centres, tourist attractions, and luxury hotels. Qeshm Island, Qeshm is the largest island in Iran, and a UNESCO Global Geoparks, UNESCO Global Geopark since 2016. Its salt cave, Namakdan, is the largest in the world, and one of the world's longest caves.


Climate

Iran's climate is diverse, ranging from Desert climate, arid and semi-arid climate, semi-arid, to subtropics, subtropical along the Caspian coast and northern forests. On the north edge of Iran, temperatures rarely fall below freezing and the area remains humid. Summer temperatures rarely exceed . Annual precipitation is in the east part of the plain and more than in the west part. The UN Resident Coordinator for Iran, has said that "Water scarcity poses the most severe human security challenge in Iran today". To the west, settlements in the Zagros basin have lower temperatures and severe winters, with freezing average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall. The east and central basins are arid, with less than of rain and have occasional deserts. Average summer temperatures rarely exceed . The southern coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers. The annual precipitation ranges from .


Biodiversity

More than one-tenth of Iran is forested. About 120 million hectares of forests and fields are government-owned for national exploitation. Iran's forests can be divided into five vegetation regions: the Hyrcanian forests, Hyrcanian region which forms the green belt of the north side of Iran; the Turan region, which are mainly scattered in the centre of Iran; the Zagros Mountains, Zagros region, which mainly contains oak forests in the west; the Persian Gulf, Persian Gulf region, which is scattered in the southern coastal belt; the Arasbaran, Arasbarani region, which contains rare and unique species. More than 8,200 plant species are grown. The land covered by natural flora is four times that of Europe's. There are over 200 protected areas to preserve biodiversity and wildlife, with over 30 being national parks. Iran's living fauna includes 34 bat species, Indian grey mongoose, small Indian mongoose, golden jackal, Indian wolf, foxes, striped hyena, leopard, Eurasian lynx, brown bear and Asian black bear. Ungulate species include wild boar, urial, Armenian mouflon, red deer, and goitered gazelle. One of the most famous animals is the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah, which survives only in Iran. Iran lost all its Asiatic lions and the extinct Caspian tigers by the early 20th century. Domestic ungulates are represented by sheep, goat, cattle, horse, water buffalo, donkey and camel. Iran is home to more than 570 bird species like pheasant, partridge, stork, eagles and falcons.


Government and politics


Supreme Leader

Supreme Leader of Iran, Supreme Leader (), the ''Rahbar'', the Leader of the Revolution or Supreme Leadership Authority, is the head of state and responsible for supervision of policy. The president has limited power compared to the ''Rahbar''. Key ministers are selected with the ''Rahbar'''s agreement, who has the ultimate say on foreign policy. The ''Rahbar'' is directly involved in ministerial appointments for Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, and other top ministries after submission of candidates from the president. The ''Rahbar'' directly controls regional policy, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tasks limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. Ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the Quds Force, which reports to the Rahbar. The ''Rahbar'' can order laws to be amended. The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, Setad, a state-owned enterprise under the ''Rahbar'', was valued at $95bn in 2013, accounts of which are secret even to the Iranian parliament, parliament. The ''Rahbar'' is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Armed Forces, controls military intelligence and security operations, and has the sole power to declare war or peace. The ''Rahbar'' also appoints the heads of the judiciary, state radio and television networks, commanders of the police and military, and members of the Guardian Council. The Assembly of Experts is responsible for electing the ''Rahbar'' and has the power to dismiss him on the basis of qualifications and popular esteem. To date, the Assembly of Experts has not challenged any of the ''Rahbar'''s decisions nor attempted to dismiss him. The previous head of the judicial system, Sadiq Larijani, appointed by the ''Rahbar'', said that it is illegal for the Assembly of Experts to supervise the ''Rahbar''. Many believe the Assembly of Experts has become a ceremonial body without any real power. In February 2025, ''The New York Times'' reported that according to Karim Sadjadpour, an expert on Iran at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, there exist in the Islamic Republic of Iran two parallel regimes. One which is ruled by the military and intelligence forces, who report to the ''Rahbar'', and "who oversee the nuclear programme and regional proxies and are tasked with repression, hostage taking and assassinations”. The other ruled by diplomats and politicians "who are authorized to speak to Western media and officials" and have minimal knowledge of Iran's nuclear programme. The political system is based on the Constitution of Iran, country's constitution. Iran ranked 154th in the 2022 ''The Economist Democracy Index''. Juan José Linz wrote in 2000 that "the Iranian regime combines the ideological bent of totalitarianism with the limited pluralism of authoritarianism".


President

The President of Iran, President is head of government and the second-highest-ranking authority after the Supreme Leader. The President is elected by universal suffrage for 4 years. Before Elections in Iran, elections, nominees to become a presidential candidate must be approved by the Guardian Council. The Council's members are chosen by the Leader, with the Leader having the power to dismiss the president. The President can only be re-elected for one term. The president is the deputy commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, Army, the head of Supreme National Security Council, and has the power to declare a state of emergency after passage by the parliament. The President is responsible for the implementation of the constitution, and for the exercise of executive powers in implementing the decrees and general policies as outlined by the ''Rahbar'', except for matters directly related to the ''Rahbar'', who has the final say. The President functions as the executive of affairs such as signing treaties and other international agreements, and administering national planning, budget, and state employment affairs, all as approved by the ''Rahbar''. The President appoints ministers, subject to the approval of the Parliament and the ''Rahbar'', who can dismiss or reinstate any minister. The President supervises the Council of Ministers of Iran, Council of Ministers, coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the legislature. Eight Vice Presidents serve under the President, as well as a cabinet of 22 ministers, all appointed by the president.


Guardian Council

Presidential and parliamentary candidates must be approved by the 12-member Guardian Council (all members of which are appointed by the Leader) or the Leader before running to ensure their allegiance. The Leader rarely does the vetting, but has the power to do so, in which case additional approval of the Guardian Council is not needed. The Leader can revert the decisions of the Guardian Council. The constitution gives the council three mandates: veto power over legislation passed by the Majlis of Iran, parliament, supervision of elections and approving or disqualifying candidates seeking to run in local, parliamentary, presidential, or Assembly of Experts elections.Article 99 of the constitution The council can nullify a law based on two accounts: being against sharia (Islamic law), or being against the constitution.Article 4


Supreme National Security Council

The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) is at the top of the foreign policy decisions process. The council was formed during the 1989 Iranian constitutional referendum for the protection and support of national interests, the revolution, territorial integrity and national sovereignty. It is mandated by Article 176 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Constitution to be presided over by the President of Iran, President. The leader selects the secretary of the Supreme Council, and the council's decisions are effective after the leader confirms them. The SNSC formulates nuclear policy, and would become effective if the Leader confirms them.


Legislature

The legislature, known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly (ICA), Iranian Parliament or "Majles", is a unicameralism, unicameral body comprising 290 members elected for four years. It drafts legislation, ratifies international treaty, treaties, and approves the national budget. All parliamentary candidates and legislation from the assembly must be approved by the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council can and has dismissed elected members of the parliament. The parliament has no legal status without the Guardian Council, and the Council holds absolute veto power over legislation. The Expediency Discernment Council has the authority to mediate disputes between Parliament and the Guardian Council. It serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, making it one of Iran's most powerful governing bodies. The Parliament has 207 constituencies, including the 5 reserved seats for religious minorities. The remaining 202 are territorial, covering one or more of Iran's Counties of Iran, counties.


Law

Iran uses the sharia law (based on Ja'fari school) as its legal system, with elements of civil law (legal system), Civil law. The Supreme Leader appoints the head of the Supreme Court and chief public prosecutor. There are several types of courts, including public courts that deal with civil and criminal cases, and Islamic Revolutionary Court, revolutionary courts, which deal with certain offenses, such as crimes against national security. The decisions of the revolutionary courts are final and cannot be appealed. The Chief Justice heads the judicial system and is responsible for its administration and supervision. He is the highest judge of the Supreme Court of Iran. The Chief Justice nominates candidates to serve as minister of justice, and the President selects one. The Chief Justice can serve for two five-year terms. The Special Clerical Court handles crimes allegedly committed by clerics, although it has taken on cases involving laity, laypeople. The Special Clerical Court functions independently of the regular judicial framework and is accountable only to the Rahbar. 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 8-year terms.


Administrative divisions

Iran is subdivided into thirty-one provinces ( ''ostân''), each governed from a local centre, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital (Persian: , ''Markaz (country subdivision), markaz'') of that province. The provincial authority is headed by a governor-general ( ''ostândâr''), who is appointed by the Ministry of Interior (Iran), Minister of the Interior subject to the approval of Cabinet of Iran, the cabinet.


Foreign relations

Iran maintains diplomatic relations with Foreign relations of Iran, 165 countries, but not the United States and Israel—a state which Iran derecognised in 1979. Iran has an Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, adversarial relationship with Saudi Arabia due to different political ideologies. Iran–Turkey relations, Iran and Turkey have been involved in modern proxy conflicts such as in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, Libya, and the South Caucasus. However, they have shared common interests, such as the issue of Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish separatism and the Qatar diplomatic crisis. Iran has a close and strong relationship with Tajikistan. Iran formed the Axis of Resistance, it unites actors committed to countering the influence of the United States and Israel in the region. It most notably includes the Hezbollah in Lebanon, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Islamic Resistance and Popular Mobilization Forces in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, and the Houthi movement in Yemen. It sometimes includes Hamas, and a variety of Palestinian political violence, other Palestinian militant groups. Iran has deep economic relations and alliance with Iraq, Lebanon, and was with Syria, which was described as Iran's "closest ally". In December 2024, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, a close ally of Iran, was a severe setback for the political influence of Iran in the region. Russia is a key trading partner, especially in regard to its excess oil reserves. Both share a close economic and military alliance, and are subject to heavy sanctions by Western nations. Iran is the only country in Western Asia that has been invited to join the Collective Security Treaty Organization, CSTO, the Russia-based international treaty organisation that parallels NATO. Relations between Iran and China are strong economically; they have developed a friendly, economic and strategic relationship. In 2021, Iran and China signed a Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Program, 25-year cooperation agreement that will strengthen the relations between the two countries and would include "political, strategic and economic" components. China–Iran relations, Iran-China relations dates back to at least 200 BC and possibly earlier. Iran is one of the few countries in the world that has a good relationship with both North Korea, North and South Korea. Iran is a member of dozens of international organisations, including the Group of 15, G-15, Group of 24, G-24, Group of 77, G-77, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, International Development Association, IDA, NAM, Islamic Development Bank, IDB, International Finance Corporation, IFC, International Labour Organization, ILO, International Monetary Fund, IMF, International Maritime Organization, IMO, Interpol, OIC,
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize Profit (eco ...
, World Health Organization, WHO, and the United Nations, UN, and currently has observer status at the World Trade Organization, WTO.


Military

The military is organised under a unified structure, the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, which includes the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force, Air Defence Force, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, Air Force, and Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, Navy; the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which consists of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, Aerospace Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Navy, Quds Force, and Basij; and the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Police Command (Faraja), which serves an analogous function to a Gendarmerie, gendarme. While the IRIAF protects the country's sovereignty in a traditional capacity, the IRGC is mandated to ensure the integrity of the Republic against foreign interference, coups, and internal riots. Conscription in Iran, Since 1925, all male citizens aged 18 must serve around 14 months in the IRIAF or IRGC. Iran has over 610,000 active troops and around 350,000 reservists, totalling over 1 million military personnel, one of the world's highest List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, percentage of citizens with military training. The Basij'','' a paramilitary volunteer militia within the IRGC, has over 20 million members, 600,000 available for immediate call-up, 300,000 reservists, and a million that could be mobilised when necessary. Faraja, the Iranian uniformed police force, has over 260,000 active personnel. Most statistical organizations do not include the Basij and Faraja in their rating reports. Excluding the Basij and Faraja, Iran has been identified as a major military power due to its armed forces' size and capabilities. It possesses the world's 14th-strongest military. It ranks 13th globally in terms of overall military strength, 7th in the number of active military personnel, and 9th in the size of both its ground force and armoured force. Iran's armed forces are the largest in
West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...
and comprise the greatest Army Aviation fleet in the Middle East. Iran is among the top 15 countries in terms of military budget. In 2021, its military spending increased for the first time in four years, to $24.6 billion, 2.3% of the national GDP. Funding for the IRGC accounted for 34% of Iran's total military spending in 2021. Since the Revolution, to overcome foreign embargoes, Iran has developed a domestic military industry capable of producing indigenous tanks, armoured personnel carriers, missiles, submarines, Iranian frigate Jamaran, missile destroyer, radar systems, helicopters, Navy, naval vessels, and fighter aircraft, fighter planes. Official announcements have highlighted the development of advanced weaponry, particularly in rocketry. Consequently, Iran has the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East and is only the 5th country in the world with Hypersonic missile, hypersonic missile technology. It is the world's 6th missile power. Iran designs and produces a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and is considered a global leader in drone warfare, drone warfare and technology. It is one of the world's five countries with cyberwarfare capabilities and is identified as "one of the most active players in the international cyber arena". Iran is a key exporter of arms since 2000s. Following Russia's purchase of Iranian drones during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, invasion of Ukraine, in November 2023, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) finalized arrangements to acquire Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters, air defence and missile systems. The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, Iranian Navy has had joint exercises with Russia and China.


Nuclear programme

Iran's nuclear programme dates back to the 1950s. Iran revived it after the Revolution, and its extensive nuclear fuel cycle, including enrichment capabilities, became the Views on the nuclear program of Iran, subject of intense international negotiations and sanctions. Many countries have expressed concern Iran could divert civilian nuclear technology into a Iran and weapons of mass destruction, weapons programme. In 2015, Iran and the P5+1 agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Joint Comprehensive Plan on Action (JCPOA), aiming to end United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929, economic sanctions in exchange for restriction in producing enriched uranium. In 2018, however, the United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, US withdrew from the deal under the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration and reimposed sanctions. This was met with resistance by Iran and other members of the P5+1. A year later, Iran began decreasing its compliance. By 2020, Iran announced it would no longer observe any limit set by the agreement. Progress since then has brought Iran to the Nuclear latency, nuclear threshold status. , Iran had uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile content, close to weapon grade. Some analysts already regard Iran as a ''de facto'' nuclear power.


Regional influence

Iran's significant influence and foothold are sometimes characterized as the "Dawn of A New Persian Empire." Some analysts associate the Iranian influence to the nation's proud Iranian nationalism, national legacy, Achaemenid Empire, empire and History of Iran, history. Since the Iranian Revolution, Revolution, Iran has grown its influence across and beyond the region. It has built military forces with a wide network of state and none-state actors, starting with Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC has been key to Iranian influence, through its Quds Force. The instability in Lebanon (from the 1980s),
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
(from 2003) and Yemen (from 2014) has allowed Iran to build strong alliances and footholds beyond its borders. Iran has a prominent influence in the social services, education, economy and politics of Lebanon, and Lebanon provides Iran access to the Mediterranean Sea. Hezbollah's strategic successes against Israel, such as its symbolic victory during the 2006 Lebanon War, 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War, elevated Iran's influence in the
Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
and strengthened its appeal across the Muslim world, Muslim World. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the arrival of Islamic State, ISIS in the mid-2010s, Iran has financed and trained militia groups in Iraq. Since the Iran–Iraq War, Iran-Iraq war in 1980s and the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iran has shaped Iraq's politics. Following Iraq's struggle against ISIS in 2014, companies linked to the IRGC such as Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters, Khatam al-Anbiya, started to build roads, power plants, hotels and businesses in Iraq, creating an economic corridor worth around $9 billion before COVID-19. This is expected to grow to $20 billion. During Yemeni civil war (2014–present), Yemen's civil war, Iran provided military support to the Houthis, a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia movement fighting Yemen's Sunni Islam, Sunni government since 2004. They gained Red Sea crisis, significant power in recent years. Iran has considerable influence in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
through militant groups such as Liwa Fatemiyoun and Liwa Zainebiyoun. In
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, Iran has supported President Bashar al-Assad; the two countries are long-standing allies. Iran has provided significant military and economic support to Assad's government, so has a considerable foothold in Syria. Iran has long supported the anti-Israel fronts in North Africa in countries like Algeria and Tunisia, embracing Hamas in part to help undermine the popularity of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Iran's support of Hamas emerged more clearly in later years. According to US intelligence, Iran does not have full control over these state and non-state groups.


Human rights and censorship

The Iranian government has been denounced by various international organisations and governments for violating human rights. The government has frequently persecuted and arrested critics of the government. Iranian law does not recognise LGBT rights in Iran, sexual orientations. LGBT rights in Iran, Sexual activity between members of the same sex is illegal and is Death penalty for homosexuality, punishable by death. Capital punishment is a legal punishment, and according to the BBC, Iran "carries out more executions than any other country, except China". UN Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman has reported discrimination against several ethnic minorities in Iran. A group of United Nations, UN experts in 2022 urged Iran to stop "systematic persecution" of religious minorities, adding that members of the Baháʼí Faith were arrested, barred from universities, or had their homes demolished. Censorship in Iran is ranked among the most extreme worldwide. Iran has strict Internet censorship in Iran, internet censorship, with the government persistently blocking social media and other sites. Since January 2021, Iranian authorities have blocked a list of social media platforms; Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram (software), Telegram, Twitter and YouTube. The 2006 election results were widely disputed, resulting in 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, protests. The 2017–18 Iranian protests swept across the country in response to the economic and political situation. It was formally confirmed that thousands of protesters were arrested. The 2019–20 Iranian protests started on 15 November in Ahvaz, and spread across the country after the government announced increases in fuel prices of up to 300%. A 2019 Internet blackout in Iran, week-long total Internet shutdown marked one of the most severe Internet blackouts in any country, and the bloodiest governmental crackdown of the protestors. Tens of thousands were arrested and hundreds were killed within a few days according to multiple international observers, including Amnesty International. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was a scheduled international civilian passenger flight from
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
to Kyiv, operated by Ukraine International Airlines. On 8 January 2020, the Boeing 737–800 flying the route was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after takeoff, killing all 176 occupants on board and leading to Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 protests, protests. An international investigation led to the government admitting to the shootdown, calling it a "human error". Further Mahsa Amini protests, protests against the government began on 16 September 2022 after a woman named Death of Mahsa Amini, Mahsa Amini died in police custody following her arrest by the Guidance Patrol, known commonly as the "morality police".


Economy

, Iran has the world's List of countries by GDP (PPP), 19th largest economy (by PPP). It is a Mixed economy, mixture of Planned economy, central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. Services contribute the largest percentage of GDP, followed by industry (Mining in Iran, mining and manufacturing) and Agriculture in Iran, agriculture. The economy is characterised by its hydrocarbon sector, manufacturing and financial services. With 10% of the world's Iran's oil reserves, oil reserves and 15% of Iran's Natural Gas Reserves, gas reserves, Iran is an energy superpower. Over Industry of Iran, 40 industries are directly involved in the Tehran Stock Exchange. Tehran is the economic powerhouse of Iran. About 30% of Iran's public-sector workforce and 45% of its large industrial firms are located there, and half those firms' employees work for government. The Central Bank of Iran is responsible for developing and maintaining the currency: the Iranian rial. The government does not recognise List of trade unions in Iran, trade unions other than the Iranian labor law, Islamic labour councils, which are subject to the approval of employers and the security services. Unemployment was 9% in 2022. Politics of Iran#Budget, Budget deficits have been a chronic problem, mostly due to Subsidies in Iran, large state subsidies, that include foodstuffs and especially petrol, totalling $100 billion in 2022 for energy alone. In 2010, the economic reform plan was to cut subsidies gradually and replace them with targeted social assistance. The objective is to move towards free market prices and increase productivity and social justice. The administration continues reform, and indicates it will diversify the oil-reliant economy. Iran has developed a Biotechnology in Iran, biotechnology, Chemistry in Iran, nanotechnology, and Pharmaceuticals in Iran, pharmaceutical industry. The government is Privatization in Iran, privatising industries. Iran has leading manufacturing industries in automobile manufacture, transportation, construction materials, home appliances, food and agricultural goods, armaments, pharmaceuticals, information technology, and petrochemicals in the Middle East. Iran is among the world's top five producers of apricots, cherry, cherries, cucumbers and gherkins, Date palm#Description, dates, common fig, figs, pistachios, quinces, walnuts, Kiwifruit and watermelons. International sanctions against Iran have damaged the economy. Iran is one of three countries that have not ratified the Paris Agreement to limit Climate change in the Middle East and North Africa, climate change, although academics say it would be good for the country. Iran suffers from high inflation and especially Food inflation in Iran, surging food prices. A major contributing factor is the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the economy, particularly in the agriculture and Food sector, food sectors but also due to significant spending on the Axis of Resistance which increase the public deficit.


Tourism

Tourism had been rapidly growing before the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching nearly 9 million foreign visitors in 2019, the world's third fastest-growing tourism destination. In 2022 it expanded its share to 5% of the economy. Iran's tourism experienced a growth of 43% in 2023, attracting 6 million foreign tourists. The government ended visa requirements for 60 countries in 2023. 98% of visits are for leisure, while 2% are for business, indicating the country's appeal as a tourist destination. Alongside the capital, the most popular tourist destinations are Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad. Iran is emerging as a preferred destination for medical tourism. Travellers from other West Asian countries grew 31% in the first seven months of 2023, surpassing Bahrain, Kuwait,
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, and Saudi Arabia. Domestic tourism is one of the world's largests; Iranian tourists spent $33bn in 2021. Iran projects investment of $32 billion in the tourism sector by 2026.


Agriculture and fishery

Roughly one-third of Iran's surface area is suited for farmland. Only 12% of the total land area is under cultivation, and less than one-third of the cultivated area is irrigated. The rest is devoted to dryland farming. Some 92% of agricultural products depend on water. The western and northwestern portions of the country have the most fertile soils. Iran's food security index stands at around 96 percent. 3% of Iran's land area is used for grazing and fodder production. Most of the grazing is done on mostly semi-dry rangeland in mountain areas and on areas surrounding the large deserts of Central Iran. Progressive government efforts and incentives during the 1990s, improved agricultural productivity, helping Iran toward its goal of reestablishing national self-sufficiency in food production. Access to the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and many river basins provides Iran the potential to develop excellent fisheries. The government assumed control of commercial fishing in 1952. Expansion of the fishery infrastructure enabled Iran to harvest an estimated 700,000 tons of fish annually from the southern waters. Since the Revolution, increased attention has been focused on producing fish from inland waters. Between 1976 and 2004, the combined take from inland waters by the state and private sectors increased from 1,100 tons to 110,175 tons. Iran is the world's largest producer and exporter of caviar, exporting more than 300 tonnes annually.


Industry and services

In 2024, Iran was ranked 16th in global car manufacturing, ahead of the United Kingdom, UK, Italy, and Russia. It built 1.188 million cars in 2023, a 12% growth compared to the previous years. Iran exports cars to countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Belarus. From 2008 to 2009, Iran leaped to 28th place from 69th in annual industrial production growth rate. Iranian General contractor, contractors have been awarded several foreign tender contracts in different fields of construction of List of reservoirs and dams in Iran, dams, Transport in Iran, bridges, roads, Construction in Iran, buildings, Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, railroads, List of power stations in Iran, power generation, and National Iranian Oil Company, gas, oil and National Iranian Petrochemical Company, petrochemical industries. In 2011, some 66 Iranian industrial companies were carrying out projects in 27 countries. Iran exported over $20 billion worth of technical and engineering services over 2001–2011. The availability of local raw materials, Mining in Iran, rich mineral reserves, experienced manpower have all played crucial role in winning the bids. 45% of large industrial firms are located in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
, and almost half of their workers work for government. The Iranian retail industry is largely in the hands of cooperatives, many of them government-sponsored, and of independent retailers in the bazaars. The bulk of food sales occur at street markets, where the Chief Statistics Bureau sets the prices. Iran's main exports are to
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
, Tajikistan, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman,
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Canada, Venezuela, Japan, South Korea and
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. Iran's automotive industry is the second most active industry of Iran, after its oil and gas industry. Iran Khodro is the largest car manufacturer in the Middle East, and Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company, ITMCO is the biggest tractor manufacturer. Iran is the List of countries by motor vehicle production, 12th largest automaker in the world. Construction is one of the most important sectors in Iran accounting for 20–50% of the total private investment. Iran is one of the most important mineral producers in the world, ranked among 15 major mineral-rich countries. Iran has become self-sufficient in designing, building and operating dams and power plants. Iran is one of the six countries in the world that manufacture gas- and steam-powered turbines.


Transport

In 2011, Iran had of roads, of which 73% were paved. In 2008 there were nearly 100 passenger cars for every 1,000 inhabitants. Tehran Metro is the largest in the Middle East, it carries more than 3 million passengers daily and in 2018, 820 million trips. Trains operate on of track. Iran's major port of entry is Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz. Imported goods are distributed through Iran by trucks and freight trains. The
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
–Bandar Abbas railroad connects Bandar-Abbas to the railroad system of Central Asia, via Tehran and Mashhad. Other major ports include Bandar-e Anzali, Bandar e-Anzali and Bandar Torkaman, Bandar e-Torkeman on the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
and Khorramshahr and Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni on the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
. List of airports in Iran, Dozens of cities have airports that serve passenger and cargo planes. Iran Air, the national airline, operates domestic and international flights. All large cities have mass transit systems using buses. Private companies provide bus services between cities. Over a million people work in transport, accounting for 9% of GDP.


Energy

Iran is an energy superpower and petroleum plays a key part. , Iran produced 4% of the world's crude oil ( per day), which generates US$36bn of export revenue and is the main source of Foreign reserves, foreign currency. Oil and gas reserves are estimated at 1.2 trn barrels; Iran holds 10% of world oil reserves and 15% for gas. Iran ranks 3rd in List of countries by proven oil reserves, oil reserves and is
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize Profit (eco ...
's 2nd largest exporter. Iran has the 2nd largest Natural gas in Iran, gas reserves, and List of countries by natural gas production, 3rd largest natural gas production. In 2019, Iran discovered a southern oil field of 50 bn barrels. In April 2024, the National Iranian Oil Company, NIOC discovered 10 giant shale oil deposits, totalling 2.6 bn barrels. Iran plans to invest $500 billion in oil by 2025.Iran Daily – Domestic Economy – 04/24/08
/ref> Iran manufactures 60–70% of Industry of Iran, its industrial equipment domestically, including turbines, pumps, catalysts, Oil refinery, refineries, oil tankers, drilling rigs, Oil platform, offshore platforms, towers, pipes, and exploration instruments. The addition of new hydroelectricity, hydroelectric stations and streamlining of conventional coal and oil-fired stations increased installed capacity to 33 GW; 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 power, solar thermal plant began in 2009. Iran is the world's third country to develop Gas to liquids, GTL technology. Demographics of Iran, Demographic trends and intensified industrialisation have caused electric power demand to grow by 8% per year. The government's goal of 53 GW of installed capacity by 2010 is to be reached by bringing on line List of power stations in Iran, new gas-fired plants, and adding hydropower and nuclear generation capacity. Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Iran's first nuclear power plant went online in 2011. Despite being an energy superpower as of 2024-2025 Iranian energy crisis, Iran suffers from an energy crisis, manifested by many power outages.


Science and technology

Iran has made considerable advances in science and technology, International sanctions against Iran, despite international sanctions. In the biomedical sciences, Iran's Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics has a UNESCO chair in biology. In 2006, List of contemporary Iranian scientists, scholars, and engineers, Iranian scientists successfully Cloning, cloned a sheep at the Royan Research Centre in Tehran. Stem cell research is among the top 10 in the world. Iran ranks 15th in the world in nanotechnology, nanotechnologies. Iranian scientists outside Iran have made major scientific contributions. In 1960, Ali Javan co-invented the first gas laser, and fuzzy set theory was introduced by Lotfi A. Zadeh. Cardiologist Tofy Mussivand invented and developed the first artificial cardiac pump, the precursor of the artificial heart. Furthering research in diabetes, the Glycated hemoglobin, HbA1c was discovered by Samuel Rahbar. Many papers in string theory are published in Iran. In 2014, Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman, and Iranian, to receive the Fields Medal, the highest prize in mathematics. Iran increased its publication output nearly tenfold from 1996 through 2004, and ranked first in output growth rate, followed by China. According to a study by SCImago Journal Rank, SCImago in 2012, Iran would rank fourth in research output by 2018, if the trend persisted. The Iranian humanoid robot Surena (robot), Sorena 2, which was designed by engineers at the University of Tehran, was unveiled in 2010. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has placed the name of Surena among the five most prominent robots, after analysing its performance. According to a 2019 study by Isabel Campos-Varela et al., Iran recorded the highest proportion of retracted publications globally, with 15.52 retractions per 10,000 publications. Media reports from 2023 indicate that Iran continues to rank among the countries with the highest retraction rates. Common types of misconduct include fraudulent peer review processes, plagiarism, and data fabrication. Data from the Retraction Watch Leaderboard further highlights that two of the 32 individuals with the highest number of retracted articles worldwide are based in Iran. Iran was ranked 64th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.


Iranian Space Agency

The Iranian Space Agency (ISA) was established in 2004. Iran became an orbital-launch-capable nation in 2009, and is a founding member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Iran placed its domestically built satellite Omid into orbit on the 30th anniversary of the Revolution, in 2009, through its first expendable launch vehicle Safir (rocket), Safir. It became the Timeline of first orbital launches by country, 9th country capable of both producing a satellite and sending it into space from a domestically made launch pad, launcher. Simorgh (rocket), Simorgh's launch in 2016, is the successor of Safir. In January 2024, Iran launched the Soraya (satellite), Soraya satellite into its highest orbit yet (750 km), a new space launch milestone for the country. It was launched by Qaem 100, Qaem 100 rocket. Iran also successfully launched 3 indigenous satellites, The Mahda, Kayan and Hatef, into orbit using the Simorgh carrier rocket. It was the first time in the country's history that it simultaneously sent three satellites into space. The three satellites are designed for testing advanced satellite subsystems, space-based positioning technology, and narrowband communication. In February 2024, Iran launched its domestically developed imaging satellite, Pars 1, from Russia into orbit. This was the second time since August 2022, when Russia launched another Iranian remote-sensing, Khayyam satellite, into orbit from Kazakhstan, reflecting deep scientific cooperation between the countries.


Telecommunication

Iran's telecommunications industry is almost entirely state-owned, dominated by the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI). As of 2020, 70 million Iranians use high-speed mobile internet. Iran is among the first five countries which have had a growth rate of over 20 percent and the highest level of development in telecommunication. Iran has been awarded the UNESCO special certificate for providing telecommunication services to rural areas. Globally, Iran ranks 75th in mobile internet speed and 153rd in fixed internet speed.


Demographics

Iran's population grew rapidly from about 19 million in 1956 to about 85 million by February 2023. Iran's Total fertility rate, fertility rate has dropped dramatically, from 6.5 children born per woman to about 1.7 two decades later, leading to a population growth rate of about 1.39% in 2018. Due to its young population, studies project that the growth will continue to slow until it stabilises at around 105 million by 2050.U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005. Unpublished work tables for estimating Iran's mortality. Washington, D.C.: Population Division, International Programs Center Iran hosts one of the largest refugee populations, with almost one million, mostly from Afghan refugees, Afghanistan and
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian Constitution, the government is required to provide every citizen with access to social security, covering retirement, unemployment, old age, disability, accidents, calamities, health and medical treatment and care services. This is covered by Taxation in Iran, tax revenues and income derived from public contributions. 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%. Iran's population is concentrated in its western half, especially in the north, north-west and west. Tehran, with a population of around 9.4 million, is Iran's capital and largest city. Iran's second most populous city, Mashhad, has a population of around 3.4 million, and is capital of the province of Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan. Isfahan has a population of around 2.2 million and is Iran's third most populous city. It is the capital of Isfahan province and was the third capital of the Safavid dynasty, Safavid Empire.


Ethnic groups

Ethnic group composition remains a point of debate, mainly regarding the largest and second largest ethnic groups, the Persians and Azerbaijanis, due to the lack of Iranian state censuses based on ethnicity. According to a 2003 estimate,
Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...
make up 51% of the population, while Iranian Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijanis make up 24%, Gilaks and Mazanderani people, Mazenderanis 8%, Kurds 7%, Iranian Arabs, Arabs 3%, Lurs 2%, Baloch people, Balochis 2%, Iranian Turkmens, Turkmens 2% and other groups (including Iranian Armenians, Armenians, Jews, Assyrians in Iran, Assyrians, Qashqai people, Qashqai, Shahsevan) make up the remaining 1%. The Library of Congress in 2008 issued slightly different estimates: 65% Persians (also including Gilaks and Mazenderanis), 16% Azerbaijanis, 7% Kurds, 6% Lurs, 2% Arabs, 2% Balochis, 1% Turkic tribal groups (such as Qashqai), and non-Persian, non-Turkic groups (including Armenians, Iranian Georgians, Georgians, and Assyrians) less than 1%. Ethnic-based discrimination in Iran, Ethnic based discrimination is prevalent in Iran. Minorities in Iran have been disproportionately affected by the ongoing crackdown aimed at repressing the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement, according to the UN Fact-Finding Mission.


Languages

Most of the population speaks
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, Iran's official language, official and national language. Others include speakers of other Iranian languages, within the greater Indo-European languages, Indo-European family, and languages belonging to other ethnicities. The Gilaki language, Gilaki and Mazanderani language, Mazenderani languages are widely spoken in Gilan Province, Gilan and Mazandaran Province, Mazenderan, northern Iran. The Talysh language is spoken in parts of Gilan. Varieties of Kurdish languages, Kurdish are concentrated in the province of Kurdistan Province, Kurdistan and nearby areas. In Khuzestan Province, Khuzestan, Persian dialects in Khuzestan, several dialects of Persian are spoken. South Iran also houses the Luri language, Luri and Achomi language, Lari languages. Azerbaijani language, Azerbaijani, the most-spoken minority language in Iran, and other Turkic languages and dialects are found in various regions, especially Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan. Notable minority languages include Armenian language, Armenian, Georgian language, Georgian, Neo-Aramaic languages, Neo-Aramaic, and Arabic. Khuzestani Arabic, Khuzi Arabic is spoken by the Ahwazi Arabs, Arabs in Khuzestan, and the wider group of Iranian Arabs. Circassian languages, Circassian was once widely spoken by the large Circassian minority, but, due to assimilation, no sizable number of Circassians speak the language anymore.


Religion

Twelver Shi'ism, Twelver Shi'a sect
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
is the state religion, to which 90–95% of Iranians adhere. About 5–10% of the population are in the Sunni Islam, Sunni and Sufism, Sufi branches of Islam. According to the World Values Survey, 96.6% of Iranian respondents believe in
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, while 4.1% say that religion is "not at all important" in life. There is a large population of adherents to Yarsanism, a Kurds in Iran, Kurdish indigenous religion, estimated to be over half a million to one million followers. The Baháʼí Faith is not officially recognised and has been subject to official persecution. Since the Revolution, the persecution of Baháʼís has increased. Irreligion is not recognised by the government. Christianity, Judaism,
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
, and the Sunni Islam, Sunni branch of Islam are officially recognised by the government and have reserved seats in the Parliament.Colin Brock, Lila Zia Levers
''Aspects of Education in the Middle East and Africa''
Symposium Books Ltd., 7 mei 2007 p. 99
Iran is home to the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world, Muslim World and the Middle East, outside of Israel. Around 250,000 to 370,000 Christianity in Iran, Christians reside in Iran, and Christianity is the country's largest recognised minority religion. Most are of Armenian background, as well as a sizable minority of Assyrians. The Iranian government has supported the rebuilding and renovation of Armenian churches, and has supported the Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran. In 2019, the government registered the Vank Cathedral, in Isfahan, as a World Heritage Site. Currently three Armenian churches in Iran have been included in the World Heritage List.


Education

Education is highly centralised. K–12 is supervised by the Ministry of Education (Iran), Ministry of Education. Higher education is supervised by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (Iran), Ministry of Science and Technology. Literacy among people aged 15 and older was 86% , with men (90%) significantly more literate than women (81%). Government expenditure on education is around 4% of GDP. The requirement to enter into higher education is to have a high school diploma and pass the Iranian University Entrance Exam. Many students do a one–two-year course of University-preparatory school, pre-university. Iran's higher education has different levels of diplomas, including an associate degree in two years, a bachelor's degree in four years, and a master's degree in two years, after which another exam allows the candidate to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy, doctoral programme.


Health

Healthcare is provided by the public-governmental system, the private sector, and Non-governmental organization, NGOs. Iran is the only country in the world with a Organ trade#Iran, legal organ trade. Iran has been able to extend public health Preventive medicine, preventive services through the establishment of an extensive Primary Health Centre, Primary Health Care Network. As a result, child and maternal mortality rates have fallen significantly, and life expectancy at birth has risen. Iran's medical knowledge rank is 17th globally, and 1st in the Middle East and North Africa. In terms of medical science production index, Iran ranks 16th in the world. Iran is fast emerging as a preferred destination for medical tourism. Iran faces the common problem of other Demographics of Iran, young demographic nations in the region, which is keeping pace with growth of an already huge demand for public services. An anticipated increase in the population growth rate will increase the need for public health infrastructures and services. In 2016, about 90% of Iranians had health insurance.


Culture


Art

Iran has one of the richest art heritages in history and been strong in many media including architecture, painting, literature, music, metalworking, stonemasonry, weaving, calligraphy and sculpture. At different times, influences from neighbouring civilisations have been important, and latterly Persian art gave and received major influences as part of the wider styles of Islamic art. From the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
(550–330 BC), the courts of successive dynasties led the style of Persian art, and court-sponsored art left many of the most impressive pieces that remain. The Islamic style of dense decoration, geometrically laid out, developed in Iran into an elegant and harmonious style, combining motifs derived from plants with Chinese motifs such as the cloud-band, and often animals represented at a smaller scale. During the Safavid dynasty, Safavid Empire in the 16th century, this style was used across a variety of media, and diffused from the court artists of the king, most being painters. By the time of the Sasanians, Iranian art had a renaissance. During the Middle Ages, Sasanian art played a prominent role in the formation of European and Asian mediaeval art. The Safavid era is known as the Golden Age of Iranian art. Safavid art exerted noticeable influences upon the Ottoman Empire, Ottomans, the Mughal Empire, Mughals, and the Deccan sultanates, Deccans, and was influential through its fashion and garden architecture on 11th–17th-century Europe. Iran's Iranian modern and contemporary art, contemporary art traces its origins to Kamal-ol-molk, a prominent realism (arts), realist painter at the court of the Qajar dynasty, Qajar Empire who affected the norms of painting and adopted a naturalistic style that would compete with photographic works. A new Iranian school of fine art was established by him in 1928, and was followed by the so-called "coffeehouse" style of painting. Iran's avant-garde modernists emerged by the arrival of new western influences during World War II. The contemporary art scene originates in the late 1940s, and Tehran's first modern art gallery, Apadana, was opened in 1949 by Mahmud Javadipur, Hosein Kazemi, and Hushang Ajudani. The new movements received official encouragement by the 1950s, which led to the emergence of artists such as Marcos Grigorian.


Architecture

The history of architecture in Iran dates back to at least 5,000 BC, with characteristic examples distributed over an area from what is now
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and from the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
to Zanzibar. The Iranians made early use of mathematics, geometry and astronomy in their architecture, yielding a tradition with structural and aesthetic variety. The guiding motif (visual arts), motif is its cosmic symbolism. Without sudden innovations, and despite the trauma of invasions and cultural shocks, it developed a recognizable style distinct from other regions of the Muslim world. Its virtues are "a marked feeling for form and scale; structural inventiveness, especially in Vault (architecture), vault and Gonbad, dome construction; a genius for decoration with a freedom and success not rivalled in any other architecture". In addition to historic gates, palaces, and mosques, the rapid growth of cities such as Tehran has brought a wave of construction. Iran ranks 7th among UNESCO's list of countries with the most archaeological ruins and attractions from antiquity.


World Heritage Sites

Iran's rich Culture of Iran, culture and history is reflected by its 27 World Heritage Sites, ranking 1st in the Middle East, and 10th in the world. These include
Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
, Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Naghsh-e Jahan Square, Chogha Zanbil, Pasargadae, Golestan Palace, Arg-e Bam, Behistun Inscription, Shahr-e Sukhteh, Susa, Takht-e Soleymān, Takht-e Soleyman, Hyrcanian forests, the city of Yazd and more. Iran has 24 Intangible cultural heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, or Human treasures, which ranks 5th worldwide.


Weaving

Iran's carpet-weaving has its origins in the Bronze Age and is one of the most distinguished manifestations of Iranian art. Carpet weaving is an essential part of Persian culture and Iranian art. Persian rugs and carpets were woven in parallel by nomadic tribes in village and town workshops, and by royal court manufactories. As such, they represent simultaneous lines of tradition, and reflect the history of Iran, Persian culture, and its various peoples. Although the term "Persian carpet" most often refers to pile-woven textiles, flat-woven carpets and rugs like Kilim, Soumak rug, Soumak, and embroidered tissues like Suzani (textile), Suzani are part of the manifold tradition of Persian carpet weaving. Iran produces three-quarters of the world's handmade carpets, and has 30% of export markets. In 2010, the "traditional skills of carpet weaving" in Fars province, Fars Province and Kashan were inscribed to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Within the Oriental rugs produced by the countries of the "rug belt", the Persian carpet stands out by the variety and elaborateness of its manifold designs. Carpets woven in towns and regional centres like Tabriz rug, Tabriz, Kerman carpet, Kerman, Ravar, Neyshabour, Mashhad, Kashan, Isfahan rug, Isfahan, Nain rug, Nain and Qom rug, Qom are characterized by their specific weaving techniques and use of high-quality materials, colours and patterns. Hand-woven Persian rugs and carpets have been regarded as objects of high artistic value and prestige, since they were mentioned by ancient Greek writers.


Literature

Iran's oldest literature, literary tradition is that of Avestan, the Iranian languages#Old Iranian, Old Iranian sacred language of the Avesta, which consists of the legendary and religious texts of
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
and the ancient Iranian religion. The Persian language was used and developed through Persianate society, Persianate societies in Anatolia, Asia Minor,
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, and
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
, leaving extensive influences on Ottoman poetry, Ottoman and Persian language in the Indian subcontinent, Mughal literatures, among others. Iran has several famous medieval poets, notably Rumi, Ferdowsi, Hafez, Saadi Shirazi, Omar Khayyam, and Nizami Ganjavi. Described as one of the great literatures of humanity, including Goethe's assessment of it as one of the four main bodies of world literature, Persian literature has its roots in surviving works of
Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
and
Old Persian Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...
, the latter of which dates back as far as 522 BCE, the date of the earliest surviving Achaemenid inscription, the Behistun Inscription. The bulk of surviving Persian literature, however, comes from the times following the Muslim conquest of Persia, Muslim conquest in 650 CE. After the Abbasids came to power (750 CE), the Iranians became the scribes and bureaucrats of the Caliphate, Islamic Caliphate and, increasingly, also its writers and poets. The New Persian language literature arose and flourished in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan and Transoxiana because of political reasons, early Iranian dynasties of post-Islamic Iran such as the Tahirids and Samanids being based in Khorasan province, Khorasan.


Philosophy

Iranian philosophy can be traced back as far as Iranian languages, Old Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient Indo-Iranians, Indo-Iranian roots and were influenced by Zarathustra's teachings. Throughout Iranian history and due to remarkable political and social changes such as Rashidun conquest of the Sassanian Empire, the Arab and Mongol invasion of Central Asia, Mongol invasions, a wide spectrum of schools of thoughts showed a variety of views on philosophical questions, extending from Old Iranian and mainly
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
-related traditions, to schools appearing in the late pre-Islamic era such as Manicheism and Mazdakism as well as post-Islamic schools. The Cyrus Cylinder is seen as a reflection of the questions and thoughts expressed by Zoroaster and developed in Zoroastrian schools of the Achaemenid era. Post-Islam Iranian philosophy is characterised by different interactions with the Ancient philosophy#Ancient Iranian philosophy, Old Iranian philosophy, the Greek philosophy and with the development of Islamic philosophy. The Illumination School and the Transcendent Philosophy are regarded as two of the main philosophical traditions of that era in Iran. Contemporary Iranian philosophy has been limited in its scope by intellectual repression.


Mythology and folklore

Iranian mythology consists of ancient Iranian folklore and stories of extraordinary beings reflecting on good and evil (Ahura Mazda and Ahriman), actions of the gods, and the exploits of heroes and creatures. The tenth-century Persian poet, Ferdowsi, is the author of the national epic known as the ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is for the most part based on ''Xwadāynāmag'', a
Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
compilation of the history of Iranian kings and heroes, as well as the stories and characters of the Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian tradition, from the texts of the Avesta, the Denkard, the Vendidad and the Bundahishn. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of not only Iran but of the Greater Iran, which includes regions of
West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...
,
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
,
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
, and Transcaucasia where the culture of Iran has had significant influence. Storytelling has a significant presence in Iranian folklore and culture. In classical Iran, minstrels performed for their audiences at royal courts and in public theatres. A minstrel was referred to by the Parthian Empire, Parthians as Gusans, gōsān, and by the Sasanian Empire, Sasanians as huniyāgar. Since the Safavid Iran, Safavid Empire, storytellers and poetry readers appeared at coffeehouses. After the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
, it took until 1985 to found the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, MCHTH (Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts), a now heavily centralised organisation, supervising all kinds of cultural activities. It held the first scientific meeting on anthropology and folklore in 1990.


Museums

The National Museum of Iran in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
is the country's most important cultural institution. As the first and biggest museum in Iran, the institution includes the Museum of Ancient Iran and the Museum of the Islamic Era. The National Museum is the world's most important museum in terms of preservation, display and research of archaeological collections of Iran, and ranks as one of the few most prestigious museums globally in terms of volume, diversity and quality of its monuments. There are many other popular museums across the country such as the Golestan Palace (World Heritage Site), Treasury of National Jewels, The Treasury of National Jewels, Reza Abbasi Museum, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Sa'dabad Complex, Carpet Museum of Iran, The Carpet Museum, Abgineh Museum of Tehran, Abgineh Museum, Pars Museum, Azerbaijan Museum, Hegmataneh Museum, Susa Museum and more. Around 25 million people visited the museums in 2019.


Music and dance

Iran is the apparent birthplace of the earliest complex instruments, dating to the third millennium BC. The use of angular harps have been documented at Madaktu and Kul-e Farah, with the largest collection of
Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
ite instruments documented at Kul-e Farah. Xenophon's ''Cyropaedia'' mentions singing women at the court of the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
. Under the
Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...
, the ''Gusans, gōsān'' (
Parthian Parthian may refer to: Historical * Parthian people * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery sk ...
for 'minstrel') had a prominent role. The history of Sasanian music is better documented than earlier periods and is especially more evident in Avestan texts. iv. First millennium C.E. (1) Sasanian music, 224–651. By the time of Khosrow II, the Sasanian royal court hosted prominent musicians, namely Azad, Bamshad, Barbad, Nagisa (harpist), Nagisa, Ramtin, and Sarkash. Iranian traditional musical instruments include string instruments such as chang (instrument), chang (harp), qanun (instrument), qanun, santur, rud (oud, barbat (lute), barbat), tar (string instrument), tar, dutar, dotar, setar, tanbur, and kamancheh, kamanche, wind instruments such as sorna (zurna, karnay, karna) and ney, and percussion instruments such as tonbak, tompak, kus, daf (dayereh, dayere), and naqareh, naqare. Iran's first symphony orchestra, the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1933. By the late 1940s, Ruhollah Khaleqi founded the country's first national music society and established the School of National Music in 1949. Iranian pop music has its origins in the Qajar era. It was significantly developed since the 1950s, using indigenous instruments and forms accompanied by electric guitar and other imported characteristics. Iranian rock emerged in the 1960s and Iranian hip hop, hip hop in the 2000s. Iran has known dance in the forms of music, play, drama or religious rituals since at least the 6th millennium BC. Artifacts with pictures of dancers were found in archaeological prehistoric sites. Genres of dance vary depending on the area, culture, and language of the local people, and can range from sophisticated reconstructions of refined court dances to energetic folk dances. Each group, region, and historical epoch has specific dance styles associated with it. The earliest researched dance from historic Iran is a dance worshipping Mithra. Ancient Persian dance was significantly researched by Greek historian Herodotus. Iran was occupied by foreign powers, causing a slow disappearance of heritage dance traditions. The Qajar period had an important influence on Persian dance. In this period, a style of dance began to be called "classical Persian dance". Dancers performed artistic dances in court for entertainment purposes such as coronations, marriage celebrations, and Nowruz, Norouz celebrations. In the 20th century, the music came to be orchestrated and dance movement and costuming gained a modernistic orientation to the West.


Fashion and clothing

The exact date of the emergence of weaving in Iran is not yet known, but it is likely to coincide with the emergence of civilization, civilisation. Ferdowsi and many historians have considered Keyumars to be first to use Animal skin, animals' skin and hair as clothing, while others propose Hushang. Ferdowsi considers Tahmuras to be a kind of textile initiator in Iran. The clothing of ancient Iran took an advanced form, and the fabric and colour of clothing became very important. Depending on the social status, eminence, climate of the region and the season, Persian clothing during the Achaemenian period took various forms. This clothing, in addition to being functional, had an aesthetic role.


Cinema, animation and theatre

A third-millennium BC earthen goblet discovered at the Shahr-e Sukhteh, Burnt City in southeast Iran depicts what could be the world's oldest example of animation. The earliest attested Iranian examples of visual representations, however, are traced back to the bas-reliefs of Persepolis, the ritual centre of the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
. The first Iranian filmmaker was probably Mirza Ebrahim Khan Akkas Bashi, Mirza Ebrahim (Akkas Bashi), the court photographer of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, Mozaffar-ed-Din of the Qajar dynasty, Qajar Empire. Mirza Ebrahim obtained a camera and filmed the Qajar ruler's visit to Europe. In 1904, Mirza Ebrahim Khan Sahhafbashi, Mirza Ebrahim (Sahhaf Bashi) opened the first public cinema in Tehran. The first Iranian feature film, ''Abi and Rabi'', was a silent comedy directed by Ovanes Ohanian in 1930. The first sound one, ''Lor Girl'', was produced by Ardeshir Irani and Abdolhossein Sepanta, Abd-ol-Hosein Sepanta in 1932. Iran's animation industry began by the 1950s and was followed by the establishment of the influential Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in 1965. With the screening of the films ''Qeysar (film), Qeysar'' and ''The Cow (1969 film), The Cow'', directed by Masoud Kimiai and Dariush Mehrjui respectively in 1969, alternative films set out to establish their status in the film industry and Bahram Beyzai's ''Downpour (film), Downpour'' and Nasser Taghvai's ''Tranquility in the Presence of Others'' followed. Attempts to organise a film festival, which had begun in 1954 within the Golrizan Festival, resulted in the festival of Sepas in 1969. It also resulted in the formation of Tehran's World Film Festival in 1973. Following the Iranian Cultural Revolution, Cultural Revolution, a new age emerged in Iranian cinema, starting with ''Long Live!'' by Khosrow Sinai and followed by other directors, such as Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi. Kiarostami, an acclaimed director, planted Iran firmly on the map of world cinema when he won the for ''Taste of Cherry'' in 1997. The presence of Iranian films in prestigious international festivals, such as Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice Film Festival, Venice and Berlin International Film Festival, Berlin, attracted attention to Iranian films. In 2006, 6 films represented Iranian cinema at Berlin; critics considered this a remarkable event in Iranian cinema. Asghar Farhadi, an Iranian director, has received a Golden Globe Award and two Academy Awards, representing Iran for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012 and 2017, with ''A Separation'' and ''The Salesman (2016 film), The Salesman''. In 2020, Ashkan Rahgozar's "The Last Fiction" became the first representative of Iranian animated cinema in the competition section, in Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Feature and Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture categories at the Academy Awards. The oldest Iranian initiation of theatre can be traced to ancient epic ceremonial theatres such as ''Sug-e Siāvuڑ'' ("mourning of Siyâvash, Siāvaڑ"), as well as dances and theatre narrations of Iranian mythological tales reported by Herodotus and Xenophon. Iran's traditional theatrical genres include Baqqāl-bāzi ("grocer play", a form of slapstick comedy), Ruhowzi (or ''Taxt-howzi'', comedy performed over a courtyard pool covered with boards), Siāh-bāzi (the central comedian appears in blackface), Sāye-bāzi (shadow play), Xeyme-ڑab-bāzi (marionette), and Arusak-bāzi (puppetry), and Ta'zieh, Ta'zie (religious tragedy plays). The Roudaki Hall is home to the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, the Tehran Opera Orchestra, and the Iranian National Ballet Company, and was officially renamed ''Vahdat Hall'' after the Revolution.


Media

Iran's largest media corporation is the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, IRIB. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is responsible for the cultural policy, including activities regarding communications and information. Most of the list of newspapers in Iran, newspapers published in Iran are in Persian, the country's official and national language. The country's most widely circulated periodicals are based in Tehran, among which are ''Etemad'', ''Ettela'at'', ''Kayhan'', ''Hamshahri'', ''Resalat (newspaper), Resalat'', and ''Shargh''. ''Tehran Times'', ''Iran (newspaper), Iran Daily'', and ''Financial Tribune'' are among the famous English-language newspapers based in Iran. Iran ranks 17th among List of countries by number of Internet users, countries by number of Internet users. Google Search is Iran's most widely used search engine and Instagram is the most popular online social networking service. Direct access to many worldwide mainstream websites has been blocked in Iran, including Facebook, which has been blocked since 2009. About 90% of Iran's e-commerce takes place on the Iranian online store Digikala, which has around 750,000 visitors per day and is the most visited online store in the Middle East.


Cuisine

Iranian main dishes include varieties of kebab, pilaf, stew (khoresh), soup and āsh, and omelette. Lunch and dinner meals are commonly accompanied by side dishes such as plain yogurt or Tzatziki, mast-o-khiar, Sabzi khordan, sabzi, Shirazi salad, salad Shirazi, and Tursu, torshi, and might follow dishes such as borani, Mirza Ghassemi, Mirza Qasemi, or kashk e bademjan. In Iranian culture, tea is widely consumed. Iran is the world's seventh major tea producer.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations—Productio
FAOSTAT
. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
One of Iran's most popular desserts is the Faloodeh, falude. There is also the popular saffron ice cream, known as ''Bastani Sonnati'' ("traditional ice cream"), which is sometimes accompanied with carrot juice. Iran is also famous for its caviar. Typical Iranian main dishes are combinations of rice with meat, vegetables and Nut (fruit), nuts. List of culinary herbs and spices, Herbs are frequently used, along with fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots and raisins. Characteristic Iranian spices and flavourings such as saffron, cardamom, and dried lime and other sources of sour flavoring, cinnamon, turmeric and parsley are mixed and used in various dishes.


Sports

Iran is the birthplace of polo, locally known as Chogan, with its earliest records attributed to the ancient
Medes The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...
. Freestyle wrestling is traditionally considered the national sport, and Iran national freestyle wrestling athletes, Iran's wrestlers have been world champions many times. Iran's traditional wrestling, called ''Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals, koڑti e pahlevāni'' ("heroic wrestling"), is registered on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Iran's National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran, National Olympic Committee was founded in 1947. Wrestlers and Olympic weightlifting, weightlifters have achieved the country's highest Iran at the Olympics, records at the Olympics. In 1974, Iran became the first country in West Asia to host the Asian Games. As a mountainous country, Iran is a venue for skiing, snowboarding, hiking, rock climbing, and mountaineering, mountain climbing. It is home to ski resorts, the most famous being Tochal Complex, Tochal, Dizin, and Shemshak (ski resort), Shemshak. Dizin is the largest, and authorised by International Ski and Snowboard Federation, FIS to administer international competitions. Football in Iran, Football is the most popular sport, with the Iran national football team, men's national team having won the AFC Asian Cup, Asian Cup three times. The men's team ranks 2nd in Asia and 18th in the FIFA World Rankings . The Azadi Stadium in Tehran is the largest association football stadium in West Asia and on a list of top-20 stadiums in the world. Volleyball is the second most popular sport. Having won the 2011 and 2013 Asian Men's Volleyball Championships, the Iran men's national volleyball team, men's national team is the 2nd strongest in Asia, and 15th in the FIVB World Rankings . Basketball is also popular, with the Iran national basketball team, men's national team having won three FIBA Asia Championship, Asian Championships since 2007.


Observances

Iran's official New Year begins with Nowruz, an ancient Iranian tradition celebrated annually on the equinox, vernal equinox and described as the ''Persian New Year''. It was registered on the UNESCO's list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2009. On the eve of the last Wednesday of the preceding year, as a prelude to Nowruz, the ancient festival of Chaharshanbe Suri, بārڑanbe Suri celebrates Atar, Ātar ("fire") by performing rituals such as jumping over bonfires and lighting fireworks. Yaldā Night, Yaldā, another ancient tradition, commemorates the ancient goddess Mithra and marks the longest night of the year on the eve of the winter solstice (usually on 20 or 21 December), during which families gather to recite poetry and eat fruits. In some regions of Mazandaran Province, Mazanderan and Markazi Province, Markazi, there is a summer solstice, midsummer festival, Tirgan, Tirgān, which is observed on Tir (month), Tir 13 (2 or 3July) as a celebration of water. Islamic annual events such as Ramadan, Ramezān, Eid al-Fitr, Eid e Fetr, and Ashura, Ruz e Āڑurā are marked by the country's population, Christian traditions such as Christmas, Noel, Lent, elle ye Ruze, and Easter, Eid e Pāk are observed by the Christian communities, Jewish traditions such as Hanukkah, Hanukā and Passover, Eid e Fatir (Pesah) are observed by the Jewish communities, and Zoroastrian traditions such as Sadeh, Sade and Mehregan, Mehrgān are observed by the Zoroastrians.


Public holidays

With 26, Iran has one of the world's highest number of public holidays. It ranks 1st in the world with the most paid leave days: 52. Iran's civil calendar, official calendar is the Solar Hijri calendar, Solar Hejri calendar, beginning at the March equinox, vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Each of the 12 months of the Solar Hejri calendar correspond with a astrological sign, zodiac sign, and the length of each year is solar. Alternatively, the Islamic calendar, Lunar Hejri calendar is used to indicate Islamic events, and the Gregorian calendar marks international events. Legal public holidays based on the Iranian solar calendar include the cultural celebrations of Nowruz (Farvardin 1–4; 21–24 March) and Sizdebedar (Farvardin 13; 2April), and the political events of Iranian Islamic Republic Day, Islamic Republic Day (Farvardin 12; 1April), the death of
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
(Khordad 14; 4June), the 5 June 1963, demonstrations in Iran, Khordad 15 event (Khordad 15; 5June), the anniversary of the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
(Bahman 22; 10 February), and Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, Oil Nationalisation Day (Esfand 29; 19 March). Lunar Islamic public holidays include Tasua (Islamic calendar, Muharram 9), Ashura (Islamic calendar, Muharram 10), Arba'een (Islamic calendar, Safar 20), Muhammad's death (Islamic calendar, Safar 28), the death of Ali al-Ridha (Islamic calendar, Safar 29 or 30), the birthday of Muhammad (Islamic calendar, Rabi-al-Awwal 17), the death of Fatimah (Islamic calendar, Jumada-al-Thani 3), the birthday of Ali (Islamic calendar, Rajab 13), Muhammad's first revelation (Islamic calendar, Rajab 27), the birthday of Muhammad al-Mahdi (Islamic calendar, Sha'ban 15), the death of Ali (Islamic calendar, Ramadan 21), Eid al-Fitr (Islamic calendar, Shawwal 1–2), the death of Ja'far al-Sadiq (Islamic calendar, Shawwal 25), Eid al-Qurban (Islamic calendar, Zulhijja 10), and Eid al-Qadir (Islamic calendar, Zulhijja 18).


See also

* Outline of Iran


Explanatory notes


References


Bibliography


''Encyclopaedia Iranica''

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Books

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External links


The Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran

President of Iran

Visit Iran - Official Travel Guide of Iran

Iran.ir

Iran
. ''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency. * *
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