Iran information

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Islamic Republic of Iran جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Persian) Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân
Flag Emblem
Motto: استقلال، آزادی، جمهوری اسلامی Esteqlâl, Âzâdi, Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi "Independence, freedom, the Islamic Republic" (de facto)[1]
Anthem: سرود ملی جمهوری اسلامی ایران Sorud-e Melli-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân "National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran"
Iran on the globe Map of Iran
Capital and largest city	Tehran 35°41′N 51°25′E / 35.683°N 51.417°E / 35.683; 51.417
Official languages	Persian
Recognised regional languages	List of languages:[4] Predominantly Persian 18% Azerbaijani and other Turkic languages (incl. Qashqai, Turkmen)[2] 10% Kurdish 7% Gilaki and Mazanderani 6% Luri 2% Balochi 2% Arabic 2% other[3] (incl. Armenian, Assyrian, Georgian, Laki, Semnani, Talysh, Tati)
Ethnic groups (2003 estimate)[5]	All Predominantly Persians Azeris Kurds Mazanderanis Lurs Gilaks Arabs Armenians Turkmens Baloch Talysh Tat
Demonym(s)	Iranian
Government	Unitary presidential theocratic Islamic republic
• Supreme Leader	Ali Khamenei
• President	Ebrahim Raisi
• Vice President	Mohammad Mokhber
• Speaker of the Parliament	Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
• Chief Justice	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i
• Secretary of the Guardian Council	Ahmad Jannati
Legislature	Islamic Consultative Assembly
Establishment history
• Elamite Empire	c. 3200 BC
• Median Empire	c. 678 BC
• Achaemenid Empire	550 BC
• Parthian Empire	247 BC
• Sasanian Empire	224 AD
• Samanid Empire	819
• Buyid dynasty	934
• Safavid Empire	1501
• Afsharid Empire	1736
• Zand Kingdom	1751
• Qajar Empire	1796
• Pahlavi Iran	15 December 1925
• Iranian Revolution	11 February 1979
• Current Constitution	3 December 1979
• Latest amendment	28 July 1989
Area
• Total	1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi) (17th)
• Water (%)	1.63 (as of 2015)[6]
Population
• 2024 estimate	89,658,000[7] (17th)
• Density	55/km2 (142.4/sq mi) (132nd)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$1.753 trillion[8]
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$403.5 billion[8]
Gini (2019)	40.9[9] medium
HDI (2022)	0.780[10] high (78th)
Currency	Iranian rial (ریال) (IRR)
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
Date format	yyyy/mm/dd (SH)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+98
ISO 3166 code	IR
Internet TLD	.ir ایران.

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Iran,^[a] also known as Persia^[b] and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI),^[c] is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Iraq to the west and Turkey to the northwest, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Gulf of Oman & the Persian Gulf to the south. With almost 90 million people in an area of 1.648 million square kilometres (0.64 million square miles), Iran ranks 17th in the world in both geographic size and population. The country is divided into five regions with 31 provinces. The nation's capital and most populous city is Tehran, with around 16 million people in its metropolitan area, other major urban centres include Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, and Shiraz.

Iran is one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the Elamites in the fourth millennium BC. It was first unified by the Medes in the seventh century BC and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BC, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire, one of the largest empires in antiquity. Alexander the Great conquered the empire in the fourth century BC, and it was subsequently divided into several Hellenistic states. An Iranian rebellion established the Parthian Empire in the third century BC, which was succeeded in the third century AD by the Sasanian Empire. Arab Muslims conquered the region in the seventh century AD, leading to its Islamization. Iran became a major centre of Islamic culture and learning, and its culture, language, and customs spread across the Muslim world. A series of native Iranian Muslim dynasties ruled the country until the Seljuk and the Mongol conquests of the 11th to 14th centuries. In the 16th century, the native Safavids re-established a unified Iranian state with Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion, marking the beginning of modern Iranian history.

Under Nader Shah Afshar in the 18th century, Iran was a leading world power, though by the 19th century, it had lost significant territory through a series of conflicts with the Russian Empire. The early 20th century saw the Persian Constitutional Revolution, the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty, and efforts at modernization. Attempts to nationalise the country's vast fossil fuel supply led to an Anglo-American coup in 1953. After the Iranian Revolution, the monarchy was overthrown in 1979 and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established by Ruhollah Khomeini, who became the country's first supreme leader. Iran is officially governed as an Islamic Republic with a presidential system, albeit with ultimate authority vested in a theocratic supreme leader (rahbar), currently Ali Khamenei since Khomeini's death in 1989. The Iranian government is authoritarian and has attracted widespread criticism for its constraints and violations of human rights.

Iran is a major emerging, middle and regional power, due to its large reserves of fossil fuels, including the world's second largest natural gas supply, third largest proven oil reserves, its strategic location in the Asian continent, its military capabilities, its regional influence, and its role as the world's focal point of Shia Islam. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the ECO, the OIC, the OPEC, the G77, the SCO, and a member of BRICS.^[12] Owing it to its long history and rich cultural legacy, Iran is home to 27 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the 10th highest number in the world, and ranks 5th globally in the number of inscriptions of Intangible Cultural Heritage, or human treasures.^[13][14] The people of Iran are multicultural and comprise a wide variety of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.

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