Iran

Location

• Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
• strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Tehran	7,153,309	Capital
Mashhad	2,307,177
Isfahan	1,547,164
Karaj	1,448,075
Tabriz	1,424,641
Shiraz	1,249,942
Qom	900,000
Ahvaz	841,145
Pasragad Branch	787,878
Kermanshah	621,100

Size

• 636,293 square miles
• 1,648,000 square kilometers
• almost 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska

History

Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza PAHLAVI was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah KHOMEINI established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a religious scholar known as the Supreme Leader, who is accountable only to the Assembly of Experts -- an elected 88-member body of clerics. US-Iran relations became strained when Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held embassy personnel hostage until mid-January 1981. The US cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in April 1980. From 1980 to 1988, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984. After the election of reformer Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohammad KHATAMI as president in 1997 and a reformist Majles (legislature) in 2000, a political reform campaign in response to popular dissatisfaction was initiated, but conservative politicians blocked reform measures while increasing repression. Municipal and legislative elections in 2003 and 2004 saw conservatives reestablish control over Iran's elected government institutions, culminating in the 2005 inauguration of hardliner Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD as president. His reelection in 2009 sparked nationwide protests over allegations of electoral fraud, and the protests persisted until 2011. In 2013, Iranians elected to the presidency centrist cleric Dr. Hasan Fereidun RUHANI, a longtime senior regime member who promised to reform society and foreign policy. In 2019, Tehran's sudden decision to increase the gasoline price sparked nationwide protests, which the regime violently suppressed. Conservatives won the majority in Majles elections in 2020, and hardline cleric Ebrahim RAISI was elected president in 2021, resulting in a conservative monopoly across the regime's elected and unelected institutions.Iran continues to be subject to a range of international sanctions and export controls because of its involvement in terrorism, weapons proliferation, human rights abuses, and concerns over the nature of its nuclear program. Iran received nuclear-related sanctions relief in exchange for nuclear concessions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action's (JCPOA) Implementation Day beginning in 2016. However, the US reimposed nuclear-related sanctions on Iran after it unilaterally terminated its JCPOA participation in 2018. In October 2023, the EU and the UK also decided to maintain nuclear-proliferation-related measures on Iran, as well as arms and missile embargoes, in response to Iran's non-compliance with its JCPOA commitments.As president, RAISI has concentrated on deepening Iran's foreign relations with anti-US states -- particularly China and Russia -- to weather US sanctions and diplomatic pressure, while supporting negotiations to restore a nuclear deal that began in 2021. RAISI contended with nationwide protests that began in September 2022 and persisted for over three months after the death of a Kurdish Iranian woman, Mahsa AMINI, in morality police custody. Young people and women led the protests, and demands focused on regime change.

Climate

mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

Terrain

rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts

Languages

Persian Farsi (official), Azeri and other Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabicmajor-language sample(s): چکیده نامه جهان، منبعی ضروری برای کسب اطلاعات کلی جهان (Persian)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Muslim (official) 98.5%, Christian 0.7%, Baha'i 0.3%, agnostic 0.3%, other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Hindu) 0.2% (2020 est.)

Government

theocratic republic

• Constitution: history: previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979amendment process: proposed by the supreme leader – after consultation with the Exigency Council – and submitted as an edict to the "Council for Revision of the Constitution," a body consisting of various executive, legislative, judicial, and academic leaders and members; passage requires absolute majority vote in a referendum and approval of the supreme leader; articles including Iran’s political system, its religious basis, and its form of government cannot be amended
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal System: religious system based on secular and Islamic law
• Executive Branch: chief of state: Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)head of government: President Masoud PEZESHKIAN (since 30 July 2024)cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the supreme leader has some control over appointments to several ministrieselection/appointment process: supreme leader appointed for life by Assembly of Experts; president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term and an additional nonconsecutive term)most recent election date: 28 June 2024, with runoff held on 5 July 2024election results: 2024: first round results - Masoud PEZESHKIAN (independent) 44.4%, Saeed JALILI (Front of Islamic Revolution Stability) 40.4%, Mohammad Baqer QAKIBAF (Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran) 14.3%, other 0.9%; second round results - Masoud PEZESHKIAN elected; Masoud PEZESHKIAN 54.8%, Saeed JALILI 45.2%2021: Ebrahim RAISI elected president; percent of vote - Ebrahim RAISI (independent) 72.4%, Mohsen REZAI (RFII) 13.8%, Abbdolnaser HEMATI (ECP) 9.8%, Amir-Hosein Qazizadeh-HASHEMI (Islamic Law Party) 4%note: presidential election held early due to the death of President Ebrahim RAISI in a helicopter accident in May 2024
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and organized into 42 two-bench branches, each with a justice and a judge)judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the High Judicial Council (HJC), a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief justice, the prosecutor general, and 3 clergy, in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court; president appointed for a single, renewable 5-year term; other judges appointed by the HJC; judge tenure NAsubordinate courts: Penal Courts I and II; Islamic Revolutionary Courts; Courts of Peace; Special Clerical Court (functions outside the judicial system and handles cases involving clerics); military courts
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Islamic Parliament of Iran (Majles Shoraye Eslami)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 290 (all directly elected)electoral system: plurality/majorityscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 3/1/2024 to 5/10/2024percentage of women in chamber: 4.9%expected date of next election: February 2028note: all candidates to the Majles must be approved by the Council of Guardians, a 12-member group of which 6 are appointed by the supreme leader and 6 are jurists nominated by the judiciary and elected by the Majles

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• traditionally state-controlled economy but reforming state-owned financial entities; strong oil/gas, agricultural, and service sectors; recent massive inflation due to exchange rate depreciation, international sanctions, and investor uncertainty; increasing poverty
• Budget: revenues: $60.714 billion (2019 est.)expenditures: $90.238 billion (2019 est.)
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
• Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, gas, fertilizer, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and nonferrous metal fabrication, armaments
• Agricultural Products: wheat, sugarcane, milk, sugar beets, rice, tomatoes, barley, potatoes, oranges, apples (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 29% (2022 est.)arable land: 9.7% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 1.2% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 18.2% (2022 est.)forest: 6.6% (2022 est.)other: 64.4% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: broadcasting equipment, vehicle parts/accessories, corn, soybeans, vehicle bodies (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: China 34%, UAE 20%, Turkey 11%, Brazil 8%, Germany 4% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: plastics, iron ore, alcohols, natural gas, refined copper (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: China 35%, Turkey 16%, India 8%, Pakistan 7%, Armenia 5% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports