Irán

Irán

Iran, also known as Persia and officially as the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. It covers an area of 1.64 million square kilometres (0.63 million square miles), making it the 17th-largest country. With an estimated population of 86.8 million, Iran is the 17th-most populous country, and the second largest in the Middle East. Its capital and largest city is Tehran. Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms 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. Alexander the Great conquered the realm 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 Sassanid Empire. Arab Muslims conquered the empire in the seventh century AD, leading to its Islamization; Iran thereafter became a major center of Islamic culture and learning. Over the next two centuries, a series of native Iranian Muslim dynasties emerged before the Seljuk Turks and the Mongols conquered the region. In the 16th century, the native Safavids re-established a unified Iranian state. Under the reign of Nader Shah in the 18th century, Iran presided over the most powerful military in the world, though by the 19th century, a series of conflicts with the Russian Empire led to significant territorial losses. The early 20th century saw the Persian Constitutional Revolution. Efforts to nationalize its fossil fuel supply led to an Anglo-American coup in 1953. After the Iranian Revolution, the current Islamic Republic was established in 1979 by Ruhollah Khomeini, who became the country's first supreme leader. The government of Iran is an Islamic theocracy with elements of a presidential system, though ultimate authority is vested in an autocratic "Supreme Leader"; the position has been held by Ali Khamenei since Khomeini's death in 1989. Iranian government is authoritarian, and has attracted widespread criticism for its significant constraints and abuses against human rights and civil liberties. It is also a focal point for Shia Islam within the Middle East. Since the Iranian Revolution, the country is widely considered to be the most determined adversary of Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iran is also considered to be one of the biggest players within Middle Eastern affairs, with its government being involved both directly and indirectly in the majority of modern Middle Eastern conflicts. Its aggressive foreign policy in the region, marked by sponsorship of numerous Khomeinist militant groups, has been widely condemned. Iran is a regional and middle power and occupies a strategic location in the Asian continent. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the ECO, the OIC, and the OPEC. It is expected to join BRICS on the 1st of January 2024. It has large reserves of fossil fuels—including the second largest natural gas supply and the third-largest proven oil reserves. The country's rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 26 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Historically a multi-ethnic country, Iran remains a pluralistic society comprising numerous ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, with the largest of these being Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Mazanderanis, and Lurs.

Update this biography »
Complete biography of Irán »