Iran

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

lowest point:

Caspian Sea -28 m

highest point:

Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m

agricultural land:

30.1%;

• arable land 10.8%;
• permanent crops 1.2%;
• permanent pasture 18.1%

forest:

6.8%

other:

63.1% (2011 est.)

total:

93.3 cu km/yr (7%/1%/92%)

per capita:

1,306 cu m/yr (2004)

• periodic droughts, floods;
• dust storms, sandstorms;
• earthquakes

• air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents;
• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• desertification;
• oil pollution in the Persian Gulf;
• wetland losses from drought;
• soil degradation (salination);
• inadequate supplies of potable water;
• water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste;
• urbanization

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

noun:

Iranian(s)

adjective:

Iranian

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)

conventional long form:

Islamic Republic of Iran

conventional short form:

Iran

local long form:

Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran

local short form:

Iran

former:

Persia

name:

Tehran

geographic coordinates:

35 42 N, 51 25 E

time difference:

UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins fourth Tuesday in March; ends fourth Thursday in September

• 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed);
• notable earlier dates: ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid (Persian) Empire established);
• A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavid Dynasty);
• 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the PAHLAVI Dynasty)

• previous 1906;
• latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979;
• amended 1989 (2013)

chief of state:

Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)

head of government:

President Hasan Fereidun RUHANI (since 3 August 2013); First Vice President Eshaq JAHANGIRI (since 5 August 2013)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the supreme leader has some control over appointments to several ministries

elections/appointments:

• 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);
• election last held on 14 June 2013 (next to be held in June 2017)

election results:

Hasan Fereidun RUHANI elected president; percent of vote - Hasan Fereidun RUHANI 50.7%, Mohammad Baqer QALIBAF 16.5%, Saeed JALILI 11.4%, Mohsen REZAI 10.6%, Ali Akber VELAYATI 6.2%, other 4.6%

note: 3 oversight bodies are also considered part of the executive branch of government

description:

• unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami or Majles (290 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by two-round vote; members serve 4-year terms);
• note - all candidates to the Majles must be approved by the Guardian Council, 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

elections:

• last held on 2 March 2012 (first round);
• second round held on 4 May 2012;
• (next to be held on 26 February 2016)

election results:

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of a president and NA judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the Supreme Judicial Council in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court;
• president appointed for a 5-year term;
• other judge appointments and tenure NA

subordinate 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

• none;
• note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy;
• address:
  • Iranian Interests Section,
  • Pakistani Embassy,
  • 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
  • Washington,
  • DC 20007
  ;
• telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990;
• FAX [1] (202) 965-1073

• none;
• note - the US Interests Section is located in the Embassy of Switzerland No. 39 Shahid Mousavi (Golestan 5th), Pasdaran Ave., Tehran, Iran;
• telephone [98] 21 2254 2178/2256 5273;
• FAX [98] 21 2258 0432

• three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red;
• the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah in the shape of a tulip, a symbol of martyrdom) in red is centered in the white band;
• ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band;
• green is the color of Islam and also represents growth, white symbolizes honesty and peace, red stands for bravery and martyrdom

name:

"Soroud-e Melli-ye Jomhouri-ye Eslami-ye Iran" (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran)

lyrics/music:

multiple authors/Hassan RIAHI

note: adopted 1990

• wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, sugarcane, fruits, nuts, cotton;
• dairy products, wool;
• caviar

agriculture:

16.3%

industry:

35.1%

services:

48.6% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

29.6% (2005)

general assessment:

currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages not presently connected

domestic:

• the addition of new fiber cables and modern switching and exchange systems installed by Iran's state-owned telecom company have improved and expanded the fixed-line network greatly;
• fixed line availability has more than doubled to more than 27 million lines since 2000;
• additionally, mobile-cellular service has increased dramatically serving roughly 56 million subscribers in 2011;
• combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership now exceeds 100 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 98;
• submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG);
• Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan;
• HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan;
• satellite earth stations - 13 (9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat) (2011)

• state-run broadcast media with no private, independent broadcasters;
• Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run TV broadcaster, operates 5 nationwide channels, a news channel, about 30 provincial channels, and several international channels;
• about 20 foreign Persian-language TV stations broadcasting on satellite TV are capable of being seen in Iran;
• satellite dishes are illegal and, while their use had been tolerated, authorities began confiscating satellite dishes following the unrest stemming from the 2009 presidential election;
• IRIB operates 8 nationwide radio networks, a number of provincial stations, and an external service;
• most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran (2009)

• condensate 7 km;
• condensate/gas 973 km;
• gas 20,794 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 570 km;
• oil 8,625 km;
• refined products 7,937 km (2013)

total:

8,483.5 km

broad gauge:

94 km 1.676-m gauge

standard gauge:

8,389.5 km 1.435-m gauge (189.5 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 24

total:

198,866 km

paved:

160,366 km (includes 1,948 km of expressways)

unpaved:

38,500 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 26

total:

76

by type:

bulk carrier 8, cargo 51, chemical tanker 3, container 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2

foreign-owned:

2 (UAE 2)

registered in other countries:

71 (Barbados 5, Cyprus 10, Hong Kong 3, Malta 48, Panama 5) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 60

major seaport(s):

Bandar-e Asaluyeh, Bandar Abbas

river port(s):

Bandar Emam Khomeyni (Shatt al-Arab)

container port(s) (TEUs):

Bandar Abbas (2,752,460)

Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh):

• Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (IRIAF), Khatemolanbia Air Defense Headquarters;
• Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC):
  • Ground Resistance Forces,
  • Navy,
  • Aerospace Force,
  • Quds Force (special operations)
  ;
• Law Enforcement Forces (2011)

• 18 years of age for compulsory military service;
• 16 years of age for volunteers;
• 17 years of age for Law Enforcement Forces;
• 15 years of age for Basij Forces (Popular Mobilization Army);
• conscript military service obligation is 18 months;
• women exempt from military service (2012)

males age 16-49:

23,619,215

females age 16-49:

22,628,341 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

20,149,222

females age 16-49:

19,417,275 (2010 est.)

male:

715,111

female:

677,372 (2010 est.)

• Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought;
• Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf;
• Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by Iran;
• Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea;
• Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey

current situation:

• Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• Iranian women and children are subjected to sex trafficking in Iran, Pakistan, the Persian Gulf, and Europe;
• Iranian children are forced, sometimes by their parents or crime networks, to beg, to work in sweatshops, or to be prostitutes in Iran and abroad;
• Azerbaijani and, reportedly, Uzbek women and children are also sexually exploited in Iran;
• Pakistani migrant workers are sometimes subjected to forced labor, including debt bondage;
• criminal organizations play a large role in human trafficking in Iran

tier rating:

• Tier 3 – Iran does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• the government does not share information on its anti-trafficking efforts making it difficult to assess the country’s human trafficking problem or the government’s attempts to curb it;
• Iranian law does not prohibit all forms of human trafficking;
• existing laws against human trafficking, forced labor, and debt bondage reportedly remain unenforced because of a lack of political will and widespread political corruption;
• Iran has no apparent protection services or rehabilitation programs for victims and has reportedly punished sex trafficking victims for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked (2014)

• despite substantial interdiction efforts and considerable control measures along the border with Afghanistan, Iran remains one of the primary transshipment routes for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe;
• suffers one of the highest opiate addiction rates in the world, and has an increasing problem with synthetic drugs;
• regularly enforces the death penalty for drug offences;
• lacks anti-money laundering laws;
• has reached out to neighboring countries to share counter-drug intelligence