 Iran or the Islamic Republic of Iran ( Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran ),
a country of southwestern Asia. Until 1935 it was called Persia.
The country is bounded on the north by the Soviet Union and the Caspian Sea; on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; on the
south by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf; and on the west
by Iraq and Turkey.
Capital: Tehran
Nationality: Iranian
Ethnic groups: Persian, Azeri, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Kurd,
Arab, Lur, Baloch, Turkmen, others
Religions: Shi'a Muslim, Sunni Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects, Turkic and Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Luri, Balochi, Arabic, Turkish , others..
Iran's largest cities:
Tehran
Tabriz
Isfahan
Meshed
Abadan
Shiraz
Kermanshah
Background
Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah
was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political
authority nominally vested in a learned religious scholar. Iranian-US relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, 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 between 1987-1988. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in
Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement. Following the elections of a reformist president and Majlis in the late 1990s, attempts to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction floundered as conservative politicians prevented reform measures from being enacted, increased repressive measures, and made electoral gains against reformers. Parliamentary elections in 2004 and
the August 2005 inauguration of a conservative stalwart as president, completed the reconsolidation of conservative power in
Iran's government. Source: The World Factbook
   Images: From left to right. Old man in Qom, narrow street in desert city Yazd, tower of silence.According the Zoroastrians
beliefs a dead body could not be burnt or buried. Dead bodies were caried to those towers and eaten by birds.
|