- جمهوری اسلامی ایران
- Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān
|
|
Motto:
- استقلال. آزادی. جمهوری اسلامی
"Independence, freedom, the Islamic Republic." (de facto)[1] |
Anthem: Mehre Khâvarân
- مهر خاوران
"The Eastern Sun"
-
|
|
Capital
and largest city |
Tehran
35°41′N 51°25′E / 35.683°N 51.417°E / 35.683; 51.417 |
Official languages |
Persian |
Spoken languages[2] |
|
Religion |
Official: Shia Islam
Other recognized religions:
|
Demonym |
Iranian, Persian |
Government |
Unitary theocratic presidential republic |
- |
Supreme Leader |
Ali Khamenei |
- |
President |
Hassan Rouhani |
- |
Vice President |
Eshaq Jahangiri |
Legislature |
Islamic Consultative Assembly |
Unification[3] |
- |
Median Empire |
c. 678 BC |
- |
Achaemenid Empire |
550 BC |
- |
Sassanid Empire[4] |
224 AD |
- |
Safavid Empire |
1501[5] |
- |
Islamic Republic |
1 April 1979 |
- |
Current constitution |
24 October 1979 |
- |
Constitution amendment |
28 July 1989 |
Area |
- |
Total |
1,648,195 km2 (18th)
636,372 sq mi |
- |
Water (%) |
0.7 |
Population |
- |
2013 estimate |
78,192,200 [6] (17th) |
- |
Density |
48/km2 (162rd)
124/sq mi |
GDP (PPP) |
2014 estimate |
- |
Total |
$1.284 trillion[7] (17th) |
- |
Per capita |
$16,463[7] (72nd) |
GDP (nominal) |
2014 estimate |
- |
Total |
$402.700 billion[7] (20th) |
- |
Per capita |
$5,165[7] (98th) |
Gini (2010) |
38[8]
medium |
HDI (2013) |
0.749[9]
high · 75th |
Currency |
Rial (﷼) (IRR) |
Time zone |
IRST (UTC+3:30) |
- |
Summer (DST) |
IRDT (UTC+4:30) |
Date format |
yyyy/mm/dd (SH) |
Drives on the |
right |
Calling code |
+98 |
ISO 3166 code |
IR |
Internet TLD |
|
Iran (
i//[10] or
//;
[11] Persian:
ایران
[ʔiːˈɾɑn] ( listen)), also known as
Persia (
// or
//),
[11][12] officially the
Islamic Republic of Iran, is a
country in
Western Asia.
[13][14][15] It is bordered to the northwest by
Armenia, the
de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and
Azerbaijan; with
Kazakhstan and
Russia across the
Caspian Sea; to the northeast by
Turkmenistan; to the east by
Afghanistan and
Pakistan; to the south by the
Persian Gulf and the
Gulf of Oman; and to the west by
Turkey and
Iraq. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km
2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second-largest nation in the
Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world; with 78.4 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 17th most populous nation.
[13][16] It is the only country that has both a Caspian Sea and
Indian Ocean coastline. Iran has been of
geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia and the
Strait of Hormuz.
Iran is home to one of the world's oldest
civilizations,
[17][18] beginning with the formation of the
Proto-Elamite and
Elamite kingdom in 3200–2800 BC. The
Iranian Medes unified the country into the first of many empires in 625 BC, after which it became the dominant cultural and political power in the region.
[3] Iran reached the pinnacle of its power during the
Achaemenid Empire (First Persian Empire) founded by
Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, which at its greatest extent comprised major portions of the ancient world, stretching from parts of the
Balkans (
Bulgaria-
Pannonia) and
Thrace-
Macedonia in the west, to the
Indus Valley in the east, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen.
[19] The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of
Alexander the Great. The area eventually regained influence under the
Parthian Empire and rose to prominence once more after the establishment of the
Sasanian dynasty (Neo-Persian empire) in 224 AD, under which Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world along with the
Byzantine Empire for the next four centuries.
[20]
Manichaeism and
Zoroastrianism were largely replaced after
Rashidun Muslims invaded Persia in 633 AD, and conquered it by 651 AD.
[21] Iran thereafter played a vital role in the subsequent
Islamic Golden Age, producing numerous influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. The emergence in 1501 of the
Safavid dynasty, which promoted the
Twelver school of thought as the official religion, marked one of the most important turning points in Iranian and
Muslim history.
[5][22][23] It also culminated into tensions, which in 1514 led to the
Battle of Chaldiran. Starting in 1736 under
Nader Shah, Iran would once again reach high prominence, reaching its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, and briefly possessing what was arguably the most powerful empire in the world.
[24] The
Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 established the nation's
first parliament, which operated within a
constitutional monarchy. Following a
coup d'état instigated by the UK and the US in 1953, Iran gradually became autocratic. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression culminated in the
Iranian Revolution, which led to the establishment of an
Islamic republic on 1 April 1979.
[16][25]
Tehran is the capital and largest city, serving as the cultural, commercial, and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a major
regional and
middle power,
[26][27] exerting considerable influence in
international energy security and the
world economy through its large reserves of
fossil fuels, which include the largest
natural gas supply in the world and the 4th-largest proven
oil reserves.
[28][29] It hosts Asia's 4th-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
[30]
Iran is a founding member of the
UN,
NAM,
OIC and
OPEC. Its unique
political system, based on the
1979 constitution, combines elements of a
parliamentary democracy with a
religious theocracy run by the country's clergy, wherein the
Supreme Leader wields significant influence. A
multicultural nation comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are
Shi'ites, the
Iranian rial is its currency, and
Persian is the official language.
[31]
Etymology
The name of
Iran (ایران) is the
Modern Persian derivative from the
Proto-Iranian term
Aryānā, meaning "Land of the
Aryans", first attested in
Zoroastrianism's
Avesta tradition.
[32][33][34][35] The term
Ērān is found to refer to Iran in a 3rd-century
Sassanid inscription, and the
Parthian inscription that accompanies it uses the Parthian term "aryān" in reference to
Iranians.
[36]
Historically Iran has been referred to as "Persia" or similar (
La Perse, Persien, Perzië, etc.) by the Western world, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran
Persis (Περσίς), meaning land of the
Persians. As the most extensive and close interaction the
Ancient Greeks ever had with any outsider was that with the Persians, the term became coined forever, even long after the Persian rule in
Ancient Greece and beyond had ended and other dynasties were now ruling the regions. In 1935,
Rezā Shāh requested that the international community refer to the country as Iran. As the
New York Times explained at the time, "At the suggestion of the Persian Legation in
Berlin, the Tehran government, on the Persian New Year,
Nowruz, March 21, 1935, substituted Iran for Persia as the official name of the country. Defenders of the name change, point to its use by the Greek historians citing that "Aryan" means "noble". In truth during the rise and fall of the Persian Empire the land was known to its people as 'Aryanam', which is equated to the current “Iran” in the proto -Iranian language. During the reign of the Sassanids it became Eran – meaning "land of the Aryans".
[37] Opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, as also the work of Professor
Ehsan Yarshater, editor of
Encyclopædia Iranica,
Columbia University, who propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably, which was approved by Mohammad Reza Shah.
[38]
Today both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
[39]
The historical and cultural wider usage of "Iran" is not restricted to the modern state proper.
[40][41][42] Irānshahr
[43] or Irānzamīn (
Greater Iran)
[44] corresponded to territories of Iranian cultural or linguistic zones. Besides modern Iran, it included portions of the
Caucasus, Mesopotamia,
Anatolia, and Central Asia.
[45]
History
Early history in Iran
The earliest archaeological artifacts in Iran, like those excavated at the
Kashafrud and
Ganj Par sites, attest to a human presence in Iran since the
Lower Paleolithic era.
[46] Neanderthal artifacts dating back to the
Middle Paleolithic period have been found mainly in the Zagros region at sites such as
Warwasi and
Yafteh Cave.
[47][48][page needed] Early agricultural communities such as
Chogha Golan in 10,000 BC
[49][50] began to flourish in Iran along with settlements such as
Chogha Bonut in 8000 BC,
[51][52] as well as
Susa and
Chogha Mish developing in and around the
Zagros region.
[53][page needed][54][55]
The emergence of Susa as a city is determined by C14 dating as early as 4395 BC.
[56] There are dozens of
pre-historic sites across the Iranian plateau pointing to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the
4th millennium BCE.
[55][57][58] During the
Bronze age Iran was home to several civilisations such as
Elam,
Jiroft and
Zayandeh Rud civilisations. Elam, the most prominent of these civilisations developed in the southwest of Iran alongside those in Mesopotamia. The development of writing in Elam in 4th millennium BC paralleled that in
Sumer.
[59] The Elamite kingdom continued its existence until the emergence of the
Median and
Achaemenid Empires.
Classical Era
Modern impression of Achaemenid
cylinder seal, 5th century BC. A winged solar disc legitimises the Persian king who subdues two rampant Mesopotamian
lamassu figures.
During the
2nd millennium BCE,
Proto-Iranian tribes arrived in Iran from the
Eurasian steppes,
[61] rivaling the native settlers of the country.
[62][63] As
these tribes dispersed into the wider area of
Greater Iran and beyond, the boundaries of modern Iran were dominated by the
Persian,
Parthian, and Median tribes. From the late 10th to late 7th centuries BC, these Iranian peoples, together with the
pre Iranian kingdoms, fell under the domination of the
Assyrian Empire, based in northern
Mesopotamia.
[64] Under king
Cyaxares, the Medes and
Persians entered into an alliance with Nabopolassar of Babylon, as well as the Scythians and the Cimmerians and together they attacked the Assyrian Empire. The civil war ravaged Assyrian Empire between 616 BC and 605 BC, thus freeing their respective peoples from three centuries of Assyrian rule.
[64] The unification of the Median tribes under
a single ruler in 728 BC led to the creation of a
Median empire which, by 612 BC, controlled the whole of Iran as well as eastern
Anatolia.
[65]
In 550 BC,
Cyrus the Great from the state of
Anshan took over the Median empire, and founded the
Achaemenid empire by unifying other city states. The conquest of Media was a result of what is called the
Persian revolt; the brouhaha was initially triggered by the actions of the Median ruler
Astyages and quickly spread to other provinces as they allied with the Persians. Later conquests under Cyrus and his successors expanded the empire to include
Lydia,
Babylon,
Egypt, and the lands to the west of the
Indus and
Oxus rivers. At its greatest extent, the empire included the modern territories of Iran,
Iraq,
Kuwait,
Syria,
Jordan,
Israel,
Palestine,
Lebanon, all significant population centers of
ancient Egypt as far west as
Libya,
Turkey,
Thrace and
Macedonia, much of the
Black Sea coastal regions,
Armenia,
Georgia,
Azerbaijan, much of
Central Asia,
Afghanistan, northern
Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan, and parts of
Oman and the
UAE, making it the first world empire.
[66] Conflict on the western borders began with the famous
Greco-Persian Wars which continued through the first half of the 5th century BC and ended with the Persian withdrawal from all of their European territories.
[67] The empire had a centralised, bureaucratic administration under the Emperor and a large professional army and civil services, inspiring similar developments in later empires.
[68]
Achaemenid Empire around the time of Darius the Great and Xerxes.
In 334 BC,
Alexander the Great invaded the Achaemenid Empire, defeating the last Achaemenid Emperor
Darius III at the
Battle of Issus in 333 BC. Following the premature death of Alexander, Iran came under the control of Hellenistic
Seleucid Empire. In the middle of the 2nd century BC, the
Parthian Empire rose to become the main power in Iran and continued as a feudal monarchy for nearly five centuries until 224 CE, when it was succeeded by the
Sassanid Empire.
[69] The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids, with the capital at
Ctesiphon, Tisfoon, and were alongside the Byzantines the two most dominant powers in the world for nearly four centuries.
[70] Most of the period of the Parthian and Sassanid Empires were overshadowed by the
Roman-Persian Wars, which raged on their western borders for over 700 years. These wars exhausted both Romans and Sassanids, which arguably led to the defeat of both at the hands of the invading Muslim Arabs.
Middle Ages (652–1501)
The prolonged Byzantine-Persian wars, as well as
social conflict within the Empire opened the way for an Arab invasion of Iran in the 7th century.
[71][72] Gundeshapur was the most important medical centre of the ancient world at the time of the Islamic conquest.
[73] Initially defeated by the Arab
Rashidun Caliphate, Iran later came under the rule of their successors the Arab
Ummayad and Arab
Abbasid Caliphates. The process of
conversion of Iranians to
Islam which followed was prolonged and gradual. Under the new Arab elite of the
Rashidun and later Ummayad Caliphates Iranians, both Muslim (
mawali) and non-Muslim (
Dhimmi), were discriminated against, being excluded from government and military, and having to pay a
special tax.
[74][75] In 750 the
Abbasids succeeded in overthrowing the Ummayad Caliphate, mainly due to the support from dissatisfied Iranian mawali.
[76] The mawali formed the majority of the rebel army, which was led by the Iranian general
Abu Muslim.
[77][78][79] After two centuries of Arab rule semi-independent and independent Iranian kingdoms (such as the
Tahirids,
Saffarids,
Samanids and
Buyids) began to appear on the fringes of the declining Abbasid Caliphate. By the
Samanid era in the 9th and 10th centuries Iran's efforts to regain its independence had been well solidified.
[80]
The arrival of the Abbasid Caliphs saw a revival of
Persian culture and influence, and a move away from Arabic culture. The role of the old Arab aristocracy was slowly replaced by a Persian bureaucracy.
[81]
The blossoming
Persian literature,
philosophy,
medicine, and
art became major elements in the forming of a Muslim civilization during the
Islamic Golden Age.
[82][83] The Islamic Golden Age reached its peak in the 10th and 11th centuries, during which Persia was the main theatre of scientific activity.
[73] After the 10th century,
Persian, alongside
Arabic, was used for scientific, philosophical, historical, mathematical, musical, and medical works, as important Iranian writers such as
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi,
Avicenna,
Qotb al-Din Shirazi,
Naser Khusraw and
Biruni made contributions to Persian scientific writing.
The cultural revival that began in the
Abbasid period led to a resurfacing of
Iranian national identity, and so earlier attempts of
Arabization never succeeded in Iran. The Iranian
Shuubiyah movement became a catalyst for Iranians to regain their independence in their relations with the Arab invaders.
[84] The most notable effect of the movement was the continuation of the
Persian language attested to the epic poet
Ferdowsi, now regarded as the most important figure in
Persian literature.
The 10th century saw a mass migration of
Turkic tribes from
Central Asia into the Iranian plateau.
[85] Turkic tribesmen were first used in the Abbasid army as slave-warriors (
Mamluks), replacing Persian and Arab elements within the army.
[77] As a result the Mamluks gained significant political power. In 999, large parts of Iran came briefly under the rule of the
Ghaznavid dynasty, whose rulers were of Mamluk Turk origin, and longer subsequently under the Turkish
Seljuk and
Khwarezmian Empires. These Turks had been fully
Persianised and had adopted Persian models of administration and rulership.
[85]
The result of the adoption and patronage of
Persian culture by Turkish rulers was the development of a distinct
Turko-Persian tradition.
In 1219–21 the
Khwarezmian Empire suffered a devastating
invasion by
Genghis Khan's Mongol army. According to Steven R. Ward, "
Mongol violence and depredations killed up to three-fourths of the population of the Iranian Plateau, possibly 10 to 15 million people. Some historians have estimated that Iran's population did not again reach its pre-Mongol levels until the mid-20th century."
[86] Following the fracture of the Mongol Empire in 1256
Hulagu Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, established the
Ilkhanate dynasty in Iran. In 1370 yet another conqueror,
Timur, commonly known as Tamerlane in the West, followed
Hulagu's example, establishing the
Timurid Dynasty which lasted for another 156 years. In 1387, Timur ordered the complete massacre of Isfahan, reportedly killing 70,000 citizens.
[87] Hulagu, Timur and their successors soon came to adopt the ways and customs of the Persians, choosing to surround themselves with a culture that was distinctively Persian.
[88]
Dynasties (1501–1979)
At the start of the 1500s,
Shah Ismail I established the Safavid Dynasty in western Persia and Azerbaijan.
[85] He subsequently extended his authority over all of Persia, and established intermittent Persian hegemony over vast nearby regions which would last for many centuries onwards. Ismail instigated a
forced conversion from
Sunni to
Shi'a Islam.
[89] The rivalry between Safavid Persia and the
Ottoman Empire led to numerous
Ottoman–Persian Wars.
[86] The Safavid era peaked in the reign of the brilliant soldier, statesman and administrator
Shah Abbas I (1587–1629),
[23][86] surpassing their Ottoman arch rivals in strength, and making the empire a leading hub in Western Eurasia for the sciences and arts. The Safavid era also saw the start of the creation of new layers in Persian society, composed of hundreds of thousands of ethnic
Georgians,
Circassians,
Armenians, and other
peoples of the Caucasus. Following a slow decline in the late 1600s and early 1700s by internal strife, royal intrigues, continuous wars between them and their Ottoman arch rivals, and foreign interference (most notably by the Russians) the Safavid dynasty was ended by
Pashtun rebels who besieged
Isfahan and defeated
Soltan Hosein in 1722.
In 1729, an Iranian Khorasan chieftain and military genius,
Nader Shah, successfully drove out, then conquered the Pashtun invaders.
During Nader Shah's reign, Iran reached its greatest extent since the
Sassanian Empire, reestablishing Persian hegemony over all of the
Caucasus, other major parts of
West Asia,
Central Asia and parts of
South Asia, and briefly possessing what was arguably the most powerful empire in the world.
[24]
In 1738-39, he
invaded India and sacked Delhi, bringing great loot back to Persia. Nader Shah's assassination sparked a brief period of civil war and turmoil, after which
Karim Khan came to power in 1750, bringing a period of relative peace and prosperity.
[86]
Another civil war ensued after Karim Khan's death in 1779, out of which
Aga Muhammad Khan emerged victorious, founding the
Qajar Dynasty in 1794. In 1795, following the disobedience of their
Georgian subjects and their alliance with the
Russians, the Qajars
sacked and ravaged Tblisi, and drove the Russians out of the entire Caucasus, reestablishing Persian
suzerainty over the region. However reestablishment of Persian control was short-lived, and the
Russo-Persian War (1804–13) and the
Russo-Persian War (1826–28) resulted in large irrevocable territorial losses for Persia but substantial gains for the
Russian Empire which took over the
Caucasus (modern
Dagestan,
Georgia,
Armenia and
Azerbaijan) from Iran as a result of the treaties of
Gulistan and
Turkmenchay.
[91] Apart from Agha Mohammad Khan rule, Qajar rule is characterised as a century of misrule.
[85]
Around 1.5 million people, or 20–25% of Persia's population, died as a result of the Great
Persian Famine of 1870–1871.
[92]
Whilst resisting efforts to be colonised, Iran lost lands in the 1800s as a result of Russian and British empire-building, known as '
The Great Game', losing much of its territory in the
Russo-Persian and the
Anglo-Persian Wars. A series of protests took place in response to the sale of
concessions to foreigners by
Nasser al-Din Shah and
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah between 1872 and 1905, the last of which resulted in the
Iranian Constitutional Revolution and establishment of Iran's first
national parliament in 1906, which was abolished in 1908. The struggle continued until 1911, when Mohammad Ali was defeated and forced to abdicate. On the pretext of restoring order, the Russians occupied northern Iran in 1911. During
World War I, the British occupied much of western Iran, not fully withdrawing until 1921.
In 1921,
Reza Khan,
Prime Minister of Iran and former general of the
Persian Cossack Brigade, overthrew the
Qajar Dynasty and became
Shah. In 1941 he was forced to abdicate in favour of his son,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, after Iran came under British and Russian occupation following the
Anglo-Soviet invasion that established the
Persian Corridor and would last until 1946.
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the Imperial Family, Coronation of the Shah of Iran in 1967.
In 1951
Mohammad Mosaddegh was elected
prime minister. He became enormously popular in Iran after he
nationalized Iran's petroleum industry and oil reserves. He was deposed in the
1953 Iranian coup d'état, an Anglo-American covert operation that marked the first time the US had overthrown a foreign government during the
Cold War.
[93]
After the coup, the Shah became increasingly
autocratic and
Sultanistic. Arbitrary arrests and torture by his secret police,
SAVAK, were used to crush all forms of political opposition.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah's
White Revolution and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964, Khomeini publicly criticized the United States government. The Shah sent him into exile. He went first to Turkey, then to Iraq and finally to France.
Due to the
1973 spike in oil prices Iran’s economy was flooded with foreign currency which caused
inflation. By 1974 Iran’s economy was experiencing double digit inflation and despite many large projects to modernize the country corruption was rampant and caused
large amounts of waste. By 1975 and 1976 an
economic recession led to increased unemployment, especially among millions of young men who had migrated to Iran’s cities looking for construction jobs during the boom years of the early 1970s. By 1977 many of these men opposed the shah’s regime and began to organize and join protests against it.
[94]
After the Iranian Revolution (1979–)
The
Iranian Revolution, later known as the Islamic Revolution,
[95][96][97] began in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations against the Shah.
[98] After a year of
strikes and
demonstrations paralyzed the country and its economy
the Shah fled the country and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran in February 1979.
[99] A new government was formed and in April 1979 Iran officially became an Islamic Republic, after its establishment was supported in a
referendum.
[16][25] A second
referendum in December 1979 approved a
theocratic constitution.
[100]
Almost immediately nationwide uprisings against the new regime began in
Iranian Kurdistan,
Khuzestan,
Balochistan and other areas. Over the next several years these uprisings were subdued in a violent manner by
the new Islamic government. The new government went about
purging itself of the non-Islamist political opposition (e.g. although both nationalists and Marxists had initially joined with Islamists to overthrow the Shah, tens of thousands were executed by the Islamic regime afterward).
[101]
On March 8, 1979, coinciding with
International Women's Day, many Iranian women demonstrated against perceived reductions to the status and rights of women, especially with regard to family law and
mandatory veiling.
[102] The
Iranian Cultural Revolution began in 1980 and universities were closed by the theocratic regime.
On 4 November 1979, a
group of Iranian students seized the U.S. embassay and
took 52 US citizens and embassy personnel hostage[103] after the US refused to return the
former Shah to Iran to face trial and execution. Attempts by the
Jimmy Carter administration to
negotiate for the release of the hostages and a failed
rescue attempt helped force Carter out of office and brought
Ronald Reagan to power. On Jimmy Carter's final day in office the last hostages were finally set free as a result of the
Algiers Accords.
On 22 September 1980 the Iraqi army
invaded Iranian Khuzestan, precipitating the
Iran–Iraq War. Although Saddam Hussein's forces made several early advances, by 1982 the Iranian forces successfully managed to
drive the Iraqi army back into Iraq. Despite receiving large amounts of foreign financial and military aid, all of Saddam's subsequent offensives were thrown back. The war continued until 1988, when Khomeini accepted a
truce mediated by the UN. The total Iranian casualties in the war were estimated to be 123,220–160,000
KIA, 60,711
MIA and 11,000-16,000
civilians killed.
[104][105]
Following the Iran–Iraq War, President
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and his administration (1989-1997) concentrated on a pragmatic pro-business policy of rebuilding and strengthening the economy without making any dramatic break with the ideology of the revolution. Rafsanjani was succeeded by the moderate
reformist Mohammad Khatami whose government (1997-2005) attempted, unsuccessfully, to make the country more free and democratic.
[106]
The
2005 presidential election brought the conservative populist candidate,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to power.
[107] During the
2009 Iranian presidential election the
Interior Ministry announced incumbent president Ahmadinejad had won 62.63% of the vote, while
Mir-Hossein Mousavi had come in second place with 33.75%.
[108][109] Allegations of large irregularities and fraud provoked the
2009 Iranian presidential election protests both within Iran and in major cites outside the country.
[110]
Hassan Rouhani was elected as
President of Iran on 15 June 2013, defeating
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and four other candidates.
[111][112] The electoral victory of new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has improved Iran's relations with other countries.
[113]
Geography
Iran is the
18th largest country in the world, with an area of 1,648,195 km
2 (636,372 sq mi).
[29] Its area roughly equals that of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany combined, or somewhat more than the US state of
Alaska.
[114] Iran lies between latitudes
24° and
40° N, and longitudes
44° and
64° E. Its borders are with
Azerbaijan (611 km (380 mi)) (with
Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave (179 km (111 mi) ))
[115] and
Armenia (35 km (22 mi)) to the north-west; the
Caspian Sea to the north;
Turkmenistan (992 km (616 mi)) to the north-east;
Pakistan (909 km (565 mi)) and
Afghanistan (936 km (582 mi)) to the east;
Turkey (499 km (310 mi)) and Iraq (1,458 km (906 mi)) to the west; and finally the waters of the Persian Gulf and the
Gulf of Oman to the south.
Iran consists of the
Iranian Plateau with the exception of the coasts of the Caspian Sea and
Khuzestan Province. It is one of the world's most mountainous countries, its landscape dominated by rugged
mountain ranges that separate various
basins or
plateaux from one another. The populous western part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the
Caucasus,
Zagros and
Alborz Mountains; the last contains Iran's highest point,
Mount Damavand at 5,610 m (18,406 ft), which is also the highest mountain on the Eurasian landmass west of the
Hindu Kush.
[116]
The northern part of Iran is covered by dense rain forests called
Shomal or the Jungles of Iran. The eastern part consists mostly of
desert basins such as the
Dasht-e Kavir, Iran's largest desert, in the north-central portion of the country, and the
Dasht-e Lut, in the east, as well as some
salt lakes. This is because the mountain ranges are too high for rain clouds to reach these regions.
The only large
plains are found along the coast of the Caspian Sea and at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, where Iran borders the mouth of the
Arvand river. Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along the remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the
Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
Climate
Iran's
climate ranges from
arid or
semiarid, to
subtropical along the Caspian coast and the
northern forests. On the northern edge of the country (the Caspian coastal plain) temperatures rarely fall below freezing and the area remains humid for the rest of the year. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 °C (84.2 °F).
[117][118] Annual precipitation is 680 mm (26.8 in) in the eastern part of the plain and more than 1,700 mm (66.9 in) in the western part. United Nations Resident Coordinator for Iran Gary Lewis has said that "Water scarcity poses the most severe human security challenge in Iran today".
[119]
To the west, settlements in the
Zagros basin experience lower temperatures, severe winters with below zero average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall. The eastern and central basins are arid, with less than 200 mm (7.9 in) of rain, and have occasional deserts.
[118] Average summer temperatures exceed 38 °C (100.4 °F). The coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and
Gulf of Oman in southern Iran have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers. The annual precipitation ranges from 135 to 355 mm (5.3 to 14.0 in).
[118]
Fauna
Iran's wildlife is composed of several animal species including bears, gazelles, wild pigs, wolves, jackals, panthers,
Eurasian lynx, and foxes.
Domestic animals include,
sheep, goats, cattle, horses, water buffalo, donkeys, and camels. The pheasant, partridge, stork, eagles and falcon are also native to Iran.
One of the most famous members of Iranian wildlife is the critically endangered
Asiatic cheetah, also known as the Iranian Cheetah, whose numbers were greatly reduced after the Iranian Revolution.
Today there are ongoing efforts to increase its population and introduce it back in India. Iran had lost all its
Asiatic Lion and the now extinct
Caspian Tigers by the earlier part of the 20th century.
[120]
Regions, provinces and cities
Iran is divided into five
regions with thirty one
provinces (
ostān),
[121]
ach governed by an appointed governor (استاندار, ostāndār). The
rovinces are divided into counties (
shahrestān), and subdivided into
istricts (
bakhsh) and sub-districts (
dehestān).
Iran has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world. From 1950 to 2002, the urban proportion of the population increased from 27% to 60%.
[122] The United Nations predicts that by 2030, 80% of the population will be urban.
[123][not in citation given] Most internal migrants have settled near the cities of
Tehran,
Isfahan,
Ahvaz, and
Qom. The listed populations are from the 2006/07 (1385
AP) census.
[124][not in citation given] Tehran, with a population of 7,705,036, is the largest city in Iran and is the capital. Tehran, like many big cities, suffers from severe
air pollution. It is the hub of the country's
communication and
transport network.
Mashhad, with a population of 2,410,800, is the second largest Iranian city and the centre of the
Razavi Khorasan Province. Mashhad is one of the holiest
Shia cities in the world as it is the site of the
Imam Reza shrine. It is the centre of
tourism in Iran, and between 15 and 20 million pilgrims go to the
Imam Reza's shrine every year.
[125][126]
Another major Iranian city is Isfahan (population 1,583,609), which is the capital of
Isfahan Province. The
Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan has been designated by
UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site. The city contains a wide variety of
Islamic architectural sites ranging from the 11th to the 19th century. The growth of the suburban area around the city has turned Isfahan into Iran's second most populous metropolitan area (3,430,353).
[127]
The fourth major city of Iran is
Tabriz (population 1,378,935), the capital of the
East Azerbaijan Province. It is also the second industrial city of Iran after Tehran. Tabriz had been the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s and one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince under the
Qajar dynasty. The city has proven extremely influential in the country’s recent history.
The fifth major city is
Karaj (population 1,377,450), located in
Alborz Province and situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of the
Alborz mountains; however, the city is increasingly becoming an extension of metropolitan Tehran.
The sixth major Iranian city is
Shiraz (population 1,214,808); it is the capital of
Fars Province. The
Elamite civilization to the west greatly influenced the area, which soon came to be known as
Persis. The ancient
Persians were present in the region from about the 9th century BC, and became rulers of a large empire under the Achaemenid dynasty in the 6th century BC. The ruins of
Persepolis and
Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the
Achaemenid Empire, are located in or near Shiraz. Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire and is situated 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of modern Shiraz. UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Largest cities or towns in Iran
Statistical Center of Iran: Results of national census, 2012[128]
|
|
Rank |
Name |
Province |
Pop. |
Rank |
Name |
Province |
Pop. |
|
Tehran
Mashhad |
1 |
Tehran |
Tehran |
8,244,759 |
11 |
Urmia |
West Azarbaijan |
680,228 |
Isfahan
Karaj |
2 |
Mashhad |
Razavi Khorasan |
2,772,287 |
12 |
Zahedan |
Sistan and Baluchestan |
575,116 |
3 |
Isfahan |
Isfahan |
1,978,168 |
13 |
Yazd |
Yazd |
550,904 |
4 |
Karaj |
Alborz |
1,967,005 |
14 |
Hamadan |
Hamadan |
548,378 |
5 |
Shiraz |
Fars |
1,549,453 |
15 |
Arak |
Markazi |
536,572 |
6 |
Tabriz |
East Azarbaijan |
1,545,491 |
16 |
Kerman |
Kerman |
534,441 |
7 |
Ahwaz |
Khuzestan |
1,133,003 |
17 |
Ardabil |
Ardabil |
485,153 |
8 |
Qom |
Qom |
1,095,871 |
18 |
Bandar Abbas |
Hormozgan |
448,861 |
9 |
Kermanshah |
Kermanshah |
857,048 |
19 |
Eslamshahr |
Tehran |
389,102 |
10 |
Rasht |
Gilan |
698,014 |
20 |
Zanjan |
Zanjan |
388,796 |
Government and politics
Iran's syncretic political system combines elements of a modern Islamic theocracy with democracy.
The political system of the Islamic Republic is based on the
1979 Constitution, and comprises several intricately connected governing bodies.
The Leader of the Revolution ("Supreme Leader") is responsible for
delineation and supervision of the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
[129] The Supreme Leader is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, controls the military intelligence and security operations; and has sole power to declare war or peace.
[129] The heads of the judiciary, state radio and television networks, the commanders of the police and military forces and six of the twelve members of the
Guardian Council are appointed by the Supreme Leader.
[129] The
Assembly of Experts elects and dismisses the Supreme Leader on the basis of qualifications and popular esteem.
[130]
After the Supreme Leader, the Constitution defines the
President of Iran as the highest state authority.
[129][131] The President is elected by
universal suffrage for a term of four years and can only be re-elected for one term.
[131][dubious – discuss] Presidential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council prior to running in order to ensure their allegiance to the ideals of the Islamic revolution.
[132]
The President is responsible for the implementation of the Constitution and for the exercise of executive powers, except for matters directly related to the Supreme Leader, who has the final say in all matters.
[129] The President appoints and supervises the
Council of Ministers, coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the legislature.
[133] Eight Vice-Presidents serve under the President, as well as a cabinet of twenty-two ministers, who must all be approved by the legislature.
[134]
The legislature of Iran (known in English as the
Islamic Consultative Assembly) is a
unicameral body.
[135] The Majlis of Iran comprises 290 members elected for four-year terms.
[135] The Majlis drafts legislation, ratifies international
treaties, and approves the national budget. All Majlis candidates and all legislation from the assembly must be approved by the Guardian Council.
[136]
The Guardian Council comprises twelve jurists including six appointed by the Supreme Leader. The others are elected by the
Parliament from among the jurists nominated by the Head of the
Judiciary.
[137][138] The Council interprets the constitution and may veto Parliament. If a law is deemed incompatible with the constitution or
Sharia (Islamic law), it is referred back to Parliament for revision.
[131] The
Expediency Council has the authority to mediate disputes between Parliament and the Guardian Council, and serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, making it one of the most powerful governing bodies in the country.
[139] Local city councils are elected by public vote to four-year terms in all cities and villages of Iran.
Law
The Supreme Leader appoints the head of Iran's judiciary, who in turn appoints the head of the Supreme Court and the chief public prosecutor.
[140] There are several types of courts including public courts that deal with civil and criminal cases, and
revolutionary courts which deal with certain categories of offenses, including crimes against
national security. The decisions of the revolutionary courts are final and cannot be appealed.
[140] The Special Clerical Court handles crimes allegedly committed by
clerics, although it has also taken on cases involving
lay people. The Special Clerical Court functions independently of the regular judicial framework and is accountable only to the Supreme Leader. The Court's rulings are final and cannot be appealed.
[140] The Assembly of Experts, which meets for one week annually, comprises 86 "virtuous and learned" clerics elected by adult suffrage for eight-year terms. As with the presidential and parliamentary elections, the Guardian Council determines candidates' eligibility.
[140] The Assembly elects the Supreme Leader and has the constitutional authority to remove the Supreme Leader from power at any time.
[140] It has not challenged any of the Supreme Leader's decisions.
[140]
The state-owned
Telecommunication Company of Iran handles telecommunications. The
media of Iran is a mixture of private and state-owned, but books and movies must be approved by the
The ministry of Ershaad before being released to the public. Iran originally received access to the internet in 1993, and it has become enormously popular among the Iranian youth.
Foreign relations
The Iranian government's officially stated goal is to establish a
new world order based on
world peace, global
collective security and justice
[144][145] although the current
Supreme Leader of Iran,
Ali Khamenei, had stated that these terms should be understood in the context of the
Shia Islamic belief system.
[146] Iran's foreign relations are based on two strategic principles: eliminating outside influences in the region and pursuing extensive diplomatic contacts with developing and
non-aligned countries.
[citation needed]
As of 2009 Iran maintained full diplomatic relations with 99 countries worldwide
[147] but not the
U.S. or
Israel (which Iran does not officially recognize).
[148] Iran is also a member of dozens of international organizations including the
G-15,
G-24,
G-77,
IAEA,
IBRD,
IDA,
IDB,
IFC,
ILO,
IMF,
International Maritime Organization,
Interpol,
OIC,
OPEC,
[149] the
United Nations,
WHO, and currently has observer status at the
World Trade Organization.
Since 2005,
Iran's nuclear program has become the subject of contention with the international community. Many countries have expressed concern that
Iran's nuclear program could divert civilian nuclear technology into a weapons program. This has led the
UN Security Council to impose
sanctions against Iran which has further isolated Iran politically, economically and socially from the rest of the global community. Following the departure of Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from power the
2013 Geneva Agreement was signed and provided for a temporary lifting of some sanctions but as of September 2014 a
comprehensive agreement is still being negotiated.
Military
Fotros (UCAV) is considered the largest in Iran's arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles. Iran has made several
UAVs indigenously
The Islamic Republic of Iran has two types of armed forces: the regular forces
Islamic Republic of Iran Army,
Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force,
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the
Revolutionary Guards, totaling about 545,000 active troops. Iran also has around 350,000 Reserve Force totaling around 900,000 trained troops.
[150] Iran has a paramilitary, volunteer militia force within the IRGC, called the
Basij, which includes about 90,000 full-time, active-duty uniformed members. Up to 11 million men and women are members of the Basij who could potentially be called up for service; GlobalSecurity.org estimates Iran could mobilize "up to one million men". This would be among the largest troop mobilizations in the world.
[151] In 2007, Iran's military spending represented 2.6% of the GDP or $102 per capita, the lowest figure of the
Persian Gulf nations.
[152] Iran's military doctrine is based on
deterrence.
[153]
Since the Iranian Revolution, to overcome foreign embargo, Iran has developed its own military industry, produced its own
tanks,
armored personnel carriers,
guided missiles,
submarines, military vessels,
guided missile destroyer,
radar systems,
helicopters and
fighter planes.
[154][155][156] In recent years, official announcements have highlighted the development of weapons such as the
Hoot,
Kowsar,
Zelzal,
Fateh-110,
Shahab-3 and
Sejjil missiles, and a variety of
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
[157] The
Fajr-3 (MIRV) is currently Iran's most advanced
ballistic missile, it is a
liquid fuel missile with an undisclosed range which was developed and produced domestically.
Economy
Iran's economy is a
mixture of
central planning,
state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures.
[158] In 2011 GDP was $482.4 billion ($1.003 trillion at PPP), or $13,200 at
PPP per capita.
[29] Iran is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the
World Bank.
[159] In the early 21st century the service sector contributed the largest percentage of the GDP, followed by industry (
mining and manufacturing) and
agriculture.
[160] The
Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for developing and maintaining the
Iranian rial, which serves as the country's
currency. The government doesn't recognize
trade unions other than the
Islamic Labour Councils, which are subject to the approval of employers and the security services.
[161] The minimum wage in June 2013 was 487 million rials a month ($134).
[162] Unemployment has remained above 10% since 1997, and the unemployment rate for women is almost double that of the men.
[162]
In 2006, about 45% of the government's budget came from oil and natural gas revenues, and 31% came from taxes and fees.
[163] As of 2007, Iran had earned $70 billion in
foreign exchange reserves mostly (80%) from crude oil exports.
[164] Iranian budget
deficits have been a chronic problem, mostly due to
large-scale state subsidies, that include foodstuffs and especially gasoline, totaling more than $84 billion in 2008 for the energy sector alone.
[165][166] In 2010, the
economic reform plan was approved by parliament to
cut subsidies gradually and replace them with targeted social assistance. The objective is to move towards
free market prices in a 5-year period and increase productivity and
social justice.
[167]
The administration continues to follow the
market reform plans of the previous one and indicated that it will diversify Iran's oil-reliant economy. Iran has also developed a
biotechnology,
nanotechnology, and
pharmaceuticals industry.
[168] However, nationalized industries such as the
bonyads have often been managed badly, making them ineffective and uncompetitive with years. Currently, the government is trying to
privatize these industries, and, despite successes, there are still several problems to be overcome, such as the
lagging corruption in the public sector and lack of competitiveness. In 2010, Iran was ranked 69, out of 139 nations, in the
Global Competitiveness Report.
[169]
Iran has leading manufacturing industries in the fields of car-manufacture and transportation, construction materials, home appliances, food and agricultural goods, armaments, pharmaceuticals, information technology, power and petrochemicals in the Middle East.
[170]
Economic
sanctions against Iran, such as the embargo against Iranian crude oil, have affected the economy.
[171] Sanctions have led to a steep fall in the value of the rial, and as of April 2013 one US dollar is worth 36,000 rial, compared with 16,000 in early 2012.
[172]
Tourism
Although tourism declined significantly during the war with Iraq, it has subsequently recovered. About 1,659,000 foreign tourists visited Iran in 2004 and 2.3 million in 2009 mostly from Asian countries, including the republics of
Central Asia, while about 10% came from the
European Union and
North America.
[173][174][175]
The most popular tourist destinations are
Isfahan,
Mashhad and
Shiraz.
[176] In the early 2000s the industry faced serious limitations in infrastructure, communications, industry standards and personnel training.
[177] The majority of the 300,000
tourist visas granted in 2003 were obtained by Asian
Muslims, who presumably intended to visit important
pilgrimage sites in
Mashhad and
Qom.
[175] Several organized tours from Germany, France and other European countries come to Iran annually to visit archaeological sites and monuments. In 2003 Iran ranked 68th in tourism revenues worldwide.
[178] According to
UNESCO and the deputy head of research for
Iran Travel and Tourism Organization (ITTO), Iran is rated among the "10 most touristic countries in the world".
[178] Domestic tourism in Iran is one of the largest in the world.
[174][179][180] Weak advertising, unstable regional conditions, a poor public image in some parts of the world, and absence of efficient planning schemes in the tourism sector have all hindered the growth of tourism.
Energy
Iran holds 10% of the world's proven
oil reserves and 15% of its gas. It is
OPEC's second largest exporter and the world's fourth oil producer.
Iran has the largest proved
gas reserves in the world, with 33.6 trillion
cubic metres.
[28] It also ranks fourth in
oil reserves with an estimated 153,600,000,000 barrels.
[181][182] It is
OPEC's 2nd largest oil exporter and is an
energy superpower.
[183][184] In 2005, Iran spent US$4 billion on fuel imports, because of
contraband and inefficient domestic use.
[185] Oil industry output averaged 4 million barrels per day (640,000 m
3/d) in 2005, compared with the peak of six million barrels per day reached in 1974. In the early years of the 2000s (decade), industry infrastructure was increasingly inefficient because of technological lags. Few exploratory
wells were drilled in 2005.
In 2004, a large share of
natural gas reserves in Iran were untapped. The addition of new
hydroelectric stations and the streamlining of conventional coal and oil-fired stations increased installed capacity to 33,000 megawatts. Of that amount, about 75% was based on natural gas, 18% on oil, and 7% on hydroelectric power. In 2004, Iran opened its first wind-powered and geothermal plants, and the first
solar thermal plant is to come online in 2009. Iran is the third country in the world to have developed
GTL technology.
[186]
Demographic trends and intensified industrialization have caused
electric power demand to grow by 8% per year. The government’s goal of 53,000 megawatts of installed capacity by 2010 is to be reached by bringing on line
new gas-fired plants and by adding hydroelectric, and nuclear power generating capacity.
Iran’s first nuclear power plant at
Bushehr went online in 2011. It is the second
Nuclear Power Plant that ever built in the Middle East after
Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in
Armenia.
[187][188]
Education and science
An 18th century Persian astrolabe
Education in Iran is highly centralized.
K-12 education is supervised by the
Ministry of Education and higher education is under supervision of
Ministry of Science and Technology. The adult literacy rate in 2008 was 85.0%, up from 36.5% in 1976.
[189]
The requirement to enter into higher education is to have a
high school diploma and pass the national university entrance examination,
Iranian University Entrance Exam (
Konkur), which is the equivalent of the US
SAT exams. Many students do a 1-2 year pre-university course known as
Peeshdaneshgahe, which is the equivalent of
GCE A-levels and
International Baccalaureate. The completion of the pre-university course earns students the Pre-University Certificate.
[190] Iran is the only country in the Middle East with a high school course equivalent to the A-levels, SAT and International Baccalaureate.
Higher education is sanctioned by different levels of diplomas:
Fogh-e-Diplom or
Kārdāni after 2 years of higher education,
Kārshenāsi (also known under the name “licence”) is delivered after 4 years of higher education (
Bachelor's degree).
Kārshenāsi-ye Arshad is delivered after 2 more years of study (
Master's degree). After which, another exam allows the candidate to pursue a doctoral program (
PhD).
[191]
According to the
Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, the top-ranking universities in the country are the
University of Tehran (468th worldwide), the
Tehran University of Medical Sciences (612th) and
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (815th).
[192]
Iran has increased its publication output nearly tenfold from 1996 through 2004, and has been ranked first in terms of output growth rate followed by China.
[193] According to
SCImago, Iran could rank fourth in the world in terms of research output by 2018, if the current trend persists.
[194]
In 2009, a SUSE Linux-based HPC system made by the Aerospace Research Institute of Iran (ARI) was launched with 32 cores and now runs 96 cores. Its performance was pegged at 192
GFLOPS.
[195] Sorena 2 Robot, which was designed by engineers at
University of Tehran, was unveiled in 2010. The
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has placed the name of Surena among the five prominent robots of the world after analyzing its performance.
[196]
In the biomedical sciences, Iran's
Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics is a UNESCO chair in biology.
[197] In late 2006,
Iranian scientists successfully
cloned a sheep by somatic cell nuclear transfer, at the
Rouyan research centre in Tehran.
[198] According to a study by David Morrison and Ali Khademhosseini (Harvard-MIT and Cambridge),
stem cell research in Iran is amongst the top 10 in the world.
[199] Iran ranks 15th in the world in
nanotechnologies.
[200][201][202]
Iran placed its domestically built
satellite,
Omid into orbit on the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, on 2 February 2009,
[203] through
Safir rocket, becoming the
ninth country in the world capable of both producing a satellite and sending it into
space from a domestically made
launcher.
[204]
The
Iranian nuclear program was launched in the 1950s. Iran is the seventh country to produce
uranium hexafluoride and controls the entire
nuclear fuel cycle.
[205][206]
Iranian scientists outside Iran have also made some major contributions to science. In 1960,
Ali Javan co-invented the first
gas laser and
fuzzy set theory was introduced by
Lotfi Zadeh.
[207] Iranian cardiologist,
Tofy Mussivand invented and developed the first artificial cardiac pump, the precursor of the
artificial heart. Furthering research and treatment of diabetes,
HbA1c was discovered by
Samuel Rahbar. Iranian physics is especially strong in
string theory, with many papers being published in Iran.
[208] Iranian-American string theorist
Kamran Vafa proposed the
Vafa-Witten theorem together with
Edward Witten. In August 2014,
Maryam Mirzakhani became the first-ever woman, as well as the first-ever Iranian, to receive the
Fields Medal, the highest prize in mathematics. Mirzakhani was awarded for her "dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces".
[209]
Demographics
1956-2011 |
Year |
Pop. |
±% p.a. |
1956 |
18,954,704 |
— |
1966 |
25,785,210 |
+3.13% |
1976 |
33,708,744 |
+2.72% |
1986 |
49,445,010 |
+3.91% |
1996 |
60,055,488 |
+1.96% |
2006 |
70,495,782 |
+1.62% |
2011 |
75,149,669 |
+1.29% |
Source: United Nations Demographic Yearbook[210] |
Iran is a diverse country, consisting of many different religious and ethnic groups that are unified through a shared
Persian language and culture.
[211]
Iran's population grew rapidly during the latter half of the 20th century, increasing from about 19 million in 1956 to around 75 million by 2009.
[212][213] However, Iran's
birth rate has dropped significantly in recent years, leading to a population growth rate—recorded from July 2012—of about 1.29 percent.
[214] Studies project that Iran's rate of growth will continue to slow until it stabilizes above 105 million by 2050.
[215][216]
Iran hosts one of the largest
refugee populations in the world, with more than one million refugees, mostly from
Afghanistan and
Iraq.
[217] Since 2006, Iranian officials have been working with the
UNHCR and Afghan officials for their
repatriation.
[218] According to estimates, about five million
Iranian citizens have emigrated to other countries, mostly since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
[219][220]
According to the
Iranian Constitution, the government is required to provide every citizen of the country with access to
social security that covers retirement, unemployment, old age,
disability,
accidents, calamities, health and medical treatment and care services. This is covered by
tax revenues and income derived from public contributions. According to the
World Health Organization, Iran ranked 58 in national health metrics and 93 in the overall performance of its
healthcare system in 2000.
[221]
Languages
The majority of the population speaks the Persian language, which is also the
official language of the country, as well as other
Iranian languages or dialects.
Turkic languages and dialects, most importantly the
Azerbaijani language, are spoken in different areas in Iran. In southwestern and southern Iran, the
Luri language and
Lari language are spoken. In
Kurdistan Province and nearby area's
Kurdish is widely spoken. In Khuzestan,
many distinct Persian dialects are spoken.
Arabic is also spoken in Khuzestan. Notable minority languages in Iran include
Armenian,
Georgian, and
Neo-Aramaic.
Circassian was also once widely used by the large Circassian minority, but due to assimilation over the many years no sizable number of Circassians speak the language anymore.
[222][223][224][225]
Ethnic groups
Iran's ethnoreligious distribution
The exact ethnic composition of Iran is unknown, as there is no official data.
The CIA World Factbook has estimated that
Persians constitute 61% of the population,
Azerbaijanis 16%,
Kurds 10%,
Lurs 6%,
Arabs 2%,
Balochs 2%,
Turkmens and
Turkic tribes 2%, and others 1% (such as
Armenians,
Georgians,
Circassians, and
Assyrians).
[29] It found Persian to be first language of 53% of the population, Azeri and other Turkic dialect being spoken by 18%,
Kurdish by 10%,
Gilaki and
Mazandarani by 7%,
Luri by 6%,
Balochi by 2%,
Arabic by 2%, and other languages at 2%.
[29]
The
Library of Congress issued slightly different estimates: Persians 65%,
Azerbaijanis 16%,
Kurds 7%,
Lurs 6%,
Arabs 2%,
Baluchi 2%,
Turkmens 1%, Turkic tribal groups such as the
Qashqai 1%, and non-Iranian, non-Turkic groups such as
Armenians,
Georgians,
Assyrians, and
Circassians less than 1%. It determined that Persian is language of at least 65% of the Iran population and also as the second language for most of the remaining 35% Iranians.
[226]
Religion
Historically,
Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion in Iran, particularly during the
Achaemenid,
Parthian and
Sassanid empires. This changed after the fall of the Sassanid Empire by the
Muslim Conquest of Iran, when Zoroastrianism was gradually replaced with Islam.
Today, the
Twelver Shia branch of Islam is the official
state religion and to which about 90% to 95%
[227][228] of Iranians officially are. About 4% to 8% of Iranians are
Sunni Muslims, mainly
Kurds and
Balochs. The remaining 2% are non-Muslim
religious minorities, including
Christians,
Bahais,
Mandeans,
Yezidis,
Yarsanis,
Zoroastrians,
Jews.
[29][229]
Iranian people by religion, 2011 General Census Results[230]
Muslim |
99.4% |
74,682,938 |
Not declared |
0.4% |
205,317 |
Christian |
0.16% |
117,704 |
Zoroastrian |
0.03% |
25,271 |
Jew |
0.01% |
8,756 |
Other |
0.07% |
49,101 |
Zoroastrians are the oldest religious community of the nation, with a long history continuing up to the present day.
Judaism also has a long history in Iran, dating back to the
Achaemenid Conquest of Babylonia. Although many left in the wake of the establishment of the
State of Israel and the
1979 Revolution, around 8,756 Jews remain in Iran, according to the latest census.
[231]
Around 250,000 - 370,000
Christians reside in Iran.
[232][233] Most are of
Armenian background, but there is a sizable minority of
Assyrians as well.
[234]
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Sunni Islam are officially recognized by the government, and have reserved seats in the Iranian Parliament. But the
Bahá'í Faith, which is said to be the largest religious minority in Iran,
[235] is not officially recognized, and has been persecuted during its existence in Iran since the 19th century. Since the 1979 Revolution, the
persecution of Bahais has increased with executions, the denial of civil rights and liberties, and the denial of access to higher education and employment.
[236][237][238]
The government has not released statistics regarding
irreligiosity. However, the irreligious figures are growing and are higher in the
diaspora, notably among
Iranian Americans.
[239][240]
Culture
As the first sentence of prominent
Iranologist Richard Nelson Frye's latest book on Persia reads: "Iran's prize possession has been its culture."
[241]
Persian culture has long been a predominant culture of the region, with Persian considered the language of intellectuals during much of the 2nd millennium, and the language of religion and the populace before that.
[citation needed]
The Sassanid era was an important and influential historical period in Iran as Iranian culture influenced China, India and Roman civilization considerably,
[242] and so influenced as far as Western Europe and Africa.
[243]
This influence played a prominent role in the formation of both
Asiatic and European
medieval art.
[244] This influence carried forward to the
Islamic world. Much of what later became known as Islamic learning, such as
philology,
literature,
jurisprudence,
philosophy,
medicine,
architecture and the
sciences were based on some of the practises taken from the
Sassanid Persians.
[245][246][247]
Art
Iranian art has one of the richest
art heritages in world history and encompasses many disciplines including
architecture,
painting,
weaving,
pottery,
calligraphy,
metalworking and
stonemasonry. There is also a very vibrant
Iranian modern and contemporary art scene. The modern
art movement in Iran had its genesis in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The 1949 opening of the
Apadana gallery in
Tehran by Mahmoud Javadipour and other colleagues, and the emergence of artists like
Marcos Grigorian in the 1950s, signaled a commitment to the creation of a form of modern art grounded in Iran.
[248]
Carpet-
weaving is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished manifestations of Persian culture and art, and dates back to ancient Persia and the
Bronze Age. Iran is the world's largest producer and exporter of handmade carpets, producing three quarters of the world's total output and having a share of 30% of world's export markets.
[249][250]
Architecture
According to Persian historian and archaeologist
Arthur Pope, the supreme Iranian art, in the proper meaning of the word, has always been its architecture. The supremacy of architecture applies to both pre-and post-Islamic periods.
[251] The history of architecture of Iran goes back to the seventh millennium BC.
Iranian architecture generally displays great variety, both structural and aesthetic, developing gradually and coherently out of earlier traditions and experience. Without sudden innovations, and despite the repeated trauma of invasions and cultural shocks, it has achieved "an individuality distinct from that of other Muslim countries".
[252] Its paramount virtues are several: "a marked feeling for form and scale; structural inventiveness, especially in
vault and
dome construction; a genius for decoration with a freedom and success not rivaled in any other architecture".
[253]
Persians were among the first to use
mathematics,
geometry, and
astronomy in architecture and also have extraordinary skills in making massive domes which can be seen frequently in the structure of bazaars and mosques. This greatly inspired the architecture of Iran's neighbors as well. The main building types of classical
Iranian architecture are the mosque and the
palace. Besides being home to a large number of art houses and galleries, Iran also holds one of the
largest and most valuable jewel collections in the world. Iran ranks seventh among countries in the world with the most archeological architectural ruins and attractions from antiquity as recognized by
UNESCO.
[254] Fifteen of UNESCO's
World Heritage Sites are creations of Iranian architecture.
Literature
Persian literature is one of the world's oldest literatures. It dates back to the poetry of
Avesta, about 1000 years BC. These poems which were a part of the oral traditions of ancient Iran, were orally transferred, and later created parts of the Avesta’s book during the Sassanid era. Its sources have been within historical Persia where the Persian language has historically been the national language.
Persian literature inspired
Goethe,
Ralph Waldo Emerson, and many others, and it has been often dubbed as a most worthy language to serve as a conduit for poetry. Dialects of Persian are sporadically spoken throughout the region from China to Syria to Russia, though mainly in the
Iranian Plateau.
[255][256]
Poetry is used in many Persian classical works, whether from literature, science, or metaphysics.
Persian literature has been considered by such thinkers as Goethe as one of the four main bodies of world literature.
[257]
The Persian language has produced a number of famous poets; however, only a few poets as
Rumi and
Omar Khayyám have surfaced among western popular readership, even though the likes of
Hafez,
Saadi,
Nizami,
[258] Attar,
Sanai,
Nasir Khusraw and
Jami are considered by many Iranians to be just as influential.
[citation needed]
Philosophy
Iranian philosophy can be traced back as far as to
Old Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient
Indo-Iranian roots and were considerably influenced by
Zarathustra's teachings. According to the
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, the chronology of the subject and science of philosophy starts with the Indo-Iranians, dating this event to 1500 BC. The Oxford dictionary also states, "Zarathushtra's philosophy entered to influence Western tradition through
Judaism, and therefore on
Middle Platonism."
Throughout
Iranian history and due to remarkable political and social changes such as
the Arab and
Mongol invasions of Persia, a wide spectrum of schools of thoughts showed a variety of views on philosophical questions extending from Old Iranian and mainly
Zoroastrianism-related traditions, to schools appearing in the late pre-Islamic era such as
Manicheism and
Mazdakism as well as various post-Islamic schools.
Iranian philosophy after the
Muslim conquest of Persia, is characterized by different interactions with the
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 Persia.
Mythology
Persian
mythology are traditional
tales and stories of ancient origin, all involving extraordinary or supernatural beings. Drawn from the legendary past of Iran, they reflect the attitudes of the society to which they first belonged - attitudes towards the confrontation of
good and evil, the actions of the gods,
yazats (lesser gods), and the exploits of heroes and fabulous creatures.
Myths play a crucial part in
Iranian culture and understanding of them is increased when they are considered within the context of
Iranian history.
[citation needed] For this purpose we must ignore modern political boundaries and look at historical developments in the
Greater Iran, a vast area covering the
Caucasus, and Central
Asia, beyond the frontiers of present-day Iran. The
geography of this region, with its high mountain ranges, plays a significant role in many of the mythological stories. The 2nd millennium BC is usually regarded as the age of migration because of the emergence in western Iran of a new form of
Iranian pottery, similar to earlier wares of north-eastern Iran, suggesting the arrival of the
Ancient Iranian peoples. This pottery, light grey to black in colour, appeared around 1400 BC. It is called Early Grey Ware or Iron I, the latter name indicating the beginning of the
Iron Age in this area.
[259]
The central collection of Persian mythology is the
Shahnameh of
Ferdowsi, written over a thousand years ago. Ferdowsi's work draws heavily, with attribution, on the stories and characters of
Mazdaism and Zoroastrianism, not only from the
Avesta, but from later texts such as the
Bundahishn and the
Denkard as well as many others.
Observances
The Iranian New Year,
Nowruz, is an ancient tradition celebrated on 21 March to mark the beginning of spring in Iran. Nowrouz was registered on the list of
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity[260] and described as the
Persian New Year[261][262][263][264] by UNESCO in 2009.
Other notable Persian national festivals include
Wednesday Light (A prelude to Nowrouz),
Sizdah Be Dar (Leaving the house on the thirteenth day of
Farvardin.),
Birth of Mithra (Longest night of the year on the eve of the
Winter Solstice.),
Tiregan (Coinciding with the mid summer festivals.),
Mehregan (A festival to honor the
Yazata) and
Sepandarmazgan (
24 February, dedicated to women, and men would make them "liberal presents".).
Theater
Theater background in Persia goes back to antiquity (641–1000
BC).
The first initiation of theater and phenomena of acting in people of the land could be traced in ceremonial theaters to glorify legendary and national heroes and humiliate the enemy like "Soug Sivash" or "Mogh Koshi" (Megakhouni), and also dances and theater narrations, musical history of mythological and love stories that have been reported by
Herodotos and Gezenphon.
[citation needed]
There were many
dramatic performance arts popular before the advent of cinema in Persia. A few examples include Khayme Shab Bazi (
Puppetry), Saye-bazi (
Shadow play), Rouhozi (Comical acts) and
Ta'zieh (Shi'i martyr plays).
Rostam and Sohrab puppet opera is an example of the most notable performance in modern day Iran.
Music
Iranian music, as evidenced by the archeological records of
Elam, the most ancient culture in southwestern Iran, dates back thousands of years. In ancient Iran musicians held socially respectable positions. The
Elamites and the
Achemenians certainly made use of musicians.
The history of musical performance
in Sassanid Iran is however better documented than earlier periods. This is specially more evident in the context of Zoroastrian ritual.
[265]
By the time of Xusro Parviz the Sassanid royal court was the host of prominent musicians such as Ramtin,
Bamshad,
Nakisa, Azad,
Sarkash, and
Barbad.
Like that of most of the world’s cultures, the music of Persia has depended on oral/aural transmission and learning.
[266]
Persian Symphonic Music has also a long history. In fact
Opera originated from Persia, much before its emergence in Europe. Iranians traditionally performed
Tazieh, which in many respects resembles the European Opera.
[267]
Iran's main orchestra include:
National Orchestra,
Tehran Symphony Orchestra and
Nations Orchestra.
Today, the musical culture of Persia, while distinct, is closely related to other musical systems of the West and Central Asia. It has also affinities to the music cultures of the Indian subcontinent, to a certain degree even to those of Africa, and in the period after 1850 particularly, to that of Europe. Its history can be traced to some extent through these relationships.
[citation needed]
Some of the Iranian traditional music instruments include:
Tar,
Dota,
Setar,
Kamanche,
Harp,
Barbat,
Santour,
Tanbur,
Qanun,
Dap,
Dhol,
Tompak (
Goblet drum), and
Ney.
Cinema and animation
The earliest examples of visual representations in Iranian history may be traced back to the
bas-reliefs in
Persepolis (c. 500 BC). Persepolis was the ritual center of the ancient kingdom of
Achaemenids and the figures at Persepolis remain bound by the rules of grammar and syntax of visual language.
[268] During the
Sasanian reign, Iranian visual arts reached a pinnacle. A bas-relief from this period in
Taq e Bostan depicts a complex hunting scene. Similar works from the period have been found to articulate movements and actions in a highly sophisticated manner. It is even possible to see a progenitor of the cinema close-up in one of these works of art, which shows a wounded wild pig escaping from the hunting ground.
[269]
In the early 20th century, five-year-old industry of cinema came to Iran. The first Iranian filmmaker was
Mirza Ebrahim Khan (Akkas Bashi), the official photographer of
Mozaffar al Din Shah of
Qajar. He obtained a camera and filmed the Shah's visit to Europe, upon the Shah's orders.
In 1904,
Mirza Ebrahim Khan (Sahhaf Bashi) opened the first movie theater in Tehran.
[270] After him, several others like Russi Khan, Ardeshir Khan, and Ali Vakili tried to establish new movie theaters in Tehran. Until the early 1930s, there were little more than 15 theatres in Tehran and 11 in other provinces.
[269]
The first silent Iranian film was made by Professor
Ovanes Ohanian in 1930, and the first sounded one,
Lor Girl, was made by
Abd ol Hossein Sepanta in 1932.
The 1960s was a significant decade for Iranian cinema, with 25 commercial films produced annually on average throughout the early 60s, increasing to 65 by the end of the decade. The majority of production focused on melodrama and thrillers. With the screening of the films
Kaiser and
The Cow, directed by
Masoud Kimiai and
Dariush Mehrjui respectively in 1969, alternative films established their status in the film industry. Attempts to organize a film festival that had begun in 1954 within the framework of the Golrizan Festival, bore fruits in the form of the Sepas Festival in 1969. The endeavors also resulted in the formation of the Tehran World Festival in 1973.
After the Revolution of 1979, as the new government imposed new laws and standards, a new age in Iranian cinema emerged, starting with
Viva... by
Khosrow Sinai and followed by many other Iranian directors who emerged in the last few decades, such as
Abbas Kiarostami and
Jafar Panahi. Kiarostami, who some critics regard as one of the few great directors in the history of Iranian cinema,
[271] planted Iran firmly on the map of world cinema when he won the
Palme d'Or for
Taste of Cherry in 1997. The continuous presence of Iranian films in prestigious international festivals, such as the
Cannes Film Festival, the
Venice Film Festival, and the
Berlin Film Festival, attracted world attention to Iranian masterpieces.
[272] In 2006, six Iranian films, of six different styles, represented Iranian cinema at the Berlin Film Festival. Critics considered this a remarkable event in the history of Iranian cinema.
[273][274]
Asghar Farhadi, a well-known Iranian director, has received a
Golden Globe Award and an
Academy Award for
Best Foreign Language Film, among many other awards, and he was named as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world by
Time Magazine in 2012.
Few of other well-known Iranian directors include
Mohsen Makhmalbaf,
Majid Majidi,
Bahram Beyzai,
Bahman Ghobadi,
Rakhshan Bani-E'temad,
Amir Naderi,
Ali Hatami and
Reza Mirkarimi.
Cinemapeople in the
Iranian diaspora, such as
Marjane Satrapi,
Shohreh Aghdashloo,
Nazanin Boniadi,
Shirin Neshat,
Sarah Shahi,
Nadia Bjorlin,
Adrian Pasdar,
Amir Mokri,
Bahar Soomekh,
Amir Talai,
Catherine Bell,
Nasim Pedrad,
Daryush Shokof, and
Rosie Malek-Yonan are also popular.
Reproduction of world’s oldest example of animation which belongs to late half of 3rd millennium BC, found in
Burnt City, Iran.
The oldest records of animation in Iran dates back to late half of 3rd millennium BC. An earthen goblet discovered at the site of the 5,200-year-old
Burnt City in southeastern Iran, depicts what could possibly be the world’s oldest example of animation. The artifact bears five sequential images depicting a
Persian Desert Ibex jumping up to eat the leaves of a tree.
[275][276]
The art of animation, as practiced in modern day Iran, started in the 1950s. After four decades of animation production in Iran and three-decade experience of
Kanoon Institute, Tehran International Animation Festival (TIAF) was established in February 1999. Every two years, participants from more than 70 countries around the world attend this event which holds the biggest national animation market in Tehran.
[277][278]
Cuisine
The cuisine of Iran is diverse, with each province featuring dishes, as well as culinary traditions and styles, distinct to their regions. The main Persian cuisines are combinations of rice with meat, chicken or fish and some onion, vegetables, nuts, and herbs. Herbs are frequently used along with fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots, and raisins.
Iranians also usually eat plain
yogurt (
Persian:
ماست, māst) with lunch and dinner; it is a staple of the diet in Iran. To achieve a balanced taste, characteristic flavourings such as saffron, dried limes, cinnamon, and parsley are mixed delicately and used in some special dishes. Onions and garlic are normally used in the preparation of the accompanying course, but are also served separately during meals, either in raw or pickled form. Iranian cuisine has also greatly inspired its neighbors.
Iran is also famous for its
caviar.
[279]
Sports
Football is among the favorite sports in Iran.
With two thirds of Iran's population under the age of 25, many sports are practised in Iran, both traditional and modern.
Iran is the birthplace of
polo,
[280] (
Naqsh-i Jahan Square in
Isfahan is a polo field which was built by king
Abbas I in the 17th century.) and
Varzesh-e Pahlavani.
Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally regarded as Iran's
national sport. Iranian wrestling, known as koshti in Persian, has been practiced since ancient times throughout Iran. Iran's national wrestling team have been Olympic and world champion. Among the most popular sports in Iran is
football with
the national team having won the
Asian Cup on three occasions.
Basketball is also very popular in Iran where the
national team won three of the last four
Asian Championships.
[281] In
1974, Iran became the first country in West Asia to host the
Asian Games.
Skiers at the
Dizin ski resort
Iran is home to several unique skiing resorts.
[282] 13 ski resorts operate in Iran,
[283] the most famous being
Tochal,
Dizin, and
Shemshak. All are within one to three hours traveling time of
Tehran.
Tochal resort is the world's fifth-highest ski resort (3,730 m or 12,238 ft at its highest station). Being a mountainous country, Iran is a venue for
hiking,
rock climbing,
[284] and
mountain climbing.
[285][286]
Among the most popular athletes in the country is
Hossein Rezazadeh and
Behdad Salimi. Volleyball it is Iran's second most popular sport in recent years.
Men's National Team ranked fourth in
2014 FIVB Volleyball World League, ranked six in
2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship and the best result an Asian nation ever achieved.
[287]
Sportspeople in the
Iranian diaspora, such as
Aravane Rezaï,
Andre Agassi,
Leila Vaziri,
Adam Gemili,
Alecko Eskandarian,
Yu Darvish,
Behrang Safari,
Patrik Baboumian,
Adam Gemili,
Shawn Daivari and
Iron Sheik are also popular.
[288]