Iran

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

mean elevation:

1,305 m

elevation extremes:

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.)

• population is concentrated in the north, northwest, and west, reflecting the position of the Zagros and Elburz Mountains;
• the vast dry areas in the center and eastern parts of the country, around the deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, have a much smaller population density

• 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

• population is concentrated in the north, northwest, and west, reflecting the position of the Zagros and Elburz Mountains;
• the vast dry areas in the center and eastern parts of the country, around the deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, have a much smaller population density

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 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 (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (2016)

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

etymology:

name derives from the Avestan term "aryanam" meaning "Land of the noble [ones]"

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 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Iran

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

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 Moderation and Development Party) 50.7%, Mohammad Baqer QALIBAF (Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran) 16.5%, Saeed JALILI (Front of Islamic Revolution Stability) 11.4%, Mohsen REZAI (Conservative) 10.6%, Ali Akber VELAYATI (Islamic Coalition Party) 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; 285 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by two-round vote, and 1 seat each for Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, Armenians in the north of the country, and Armenians in the South; 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:

first round held on 26 February 2016 with second round for 68 remaining seats held on 29 April 2016; (next to be held in 2020)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - List of Hope 41.7%, Principalists Grand Coalition 28.6%, People's Voice Coalition 3.8%, religious minorities 1.7%, other 1.7%, independent 22.4%,;
• seats by party - List of Hope 121, Principalists Grand Coalition 83, People's Voice Coalition 11, religious minorities 5, other 5, independent 65

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the president and NA judges)

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 5-year term;
• other judges appointed by the HJC;
• judge 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:

• heavy investment by Iran's state-owned telecom company has greatly improved and expanded both the fixed-line and mobile cellular networks;
• a huge percentage of the cell phones in the market have been smuggled into the country

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) (2015)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

15; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 228

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

15,003,958

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

107,184,869 mt-km (2015)

• 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, Bandar Emam

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,
  • Qods Force (special operations)
  ;
• Law Enforcement Forces (2015)

• 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)

• 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;
• organized groups sex traffic Iranian women and children in Iran and to the UAE and Europe;
• the transport of girls from and through Iran en route to the Gulf for sexual exploitation or forced marriages is on the rise;
• Iranian children are also forced to work as beggars, street vendors, and in domestic workshops;
• Afghan boys forced to work in construction or agriculture are vulnerable to sexual abuse by their employers;
• Pakistani and Afghan migrants being smuggled to Europe often are subjected to forced labor, including debt bondage

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, but publically available information from NGOs, the media, and international organizations indicates that Iran is not taking adequate measures to address its trafficking problems, particularly protecting victims;
• Iranian law does not prohibit all forms of human trafficking;
• female victims find it extremely difficult to get justice because Iranian courts accord women’s testimony half the weight of men's, and female victims of sexual abuse, including trafficking, are likely to be prosecuted for adultery;
• the government did not identify or provide protection services to any victims and continued to punish victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked;
• the government made some effort to cooperate with neighboring governments and an international organization to combat human trafficking and other crimes (2015)

• 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