Outline of Iran

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The Flag of Iran		The Coat of arms of Iran

The location of Iran

An enlargeable map of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran, known as Persia until 1935, is a country in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Iran is bounded by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south and the Caspian Sea to its north. Shi'a Islam is the official religion, and Persian is the official language.^[1] The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 square kilometres (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of over seventy million. Iran borders Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and Turkey and Iraq to the west. Being a littoral state of the Caspian sea (an internal sea and condominium), also Kazakhstan and Russia are Iran's direct neighbours.

Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC.^[2]^[3]^[4] Throughout history, Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and is a regional power.^[5]^[6] The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran occupies an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means "Land of the Aryans".^[7]^[8]^[9] "Land of Sun" (سرزمين مهر) is used as an alternative name for Iran in Persian literature and Iranian media.^[10]^[11]

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Iran:

Please be reminded that many of the red-linked articles might exist already with slightly different titles.

[edit] General reference

An enlargeable map of Iran

Pronunciation:
Common English country name: Iran, archaic Persia
Official English country name: The Islamic Republic of Iran
Common endonym(s):
Official endonym(s):
Adjectival(s): Iranian
Demonym(s):
Etymology: Name of Iran
International rankings of Iran
- 18th largest country
- 17th most populous country
ISO country codes: IR, IRN, 364
ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:IR
Internet country code top-level domain: .ir

[edit] Geography of Iran

An enlargeable topographic map of Iran

Main article: Geography of Iran

Iran is: a country
Location:
- Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
- Eurasia
  - Asia
    - Southwest Asia
  - Middle East
    - Iranian plateau
- Time zone(s): [[]]
- Extreme points of Iran
- Land boundaries: 5,440 km

Iraq 1,458 km

Turkmenistan 992 km

Afghanistan 936 km

Pakistan 909 km

Azerbaijan 611 km

Turkey 499 km

Armenia 35 km

Coastline: 2,440 km^[12]

Population of Iran: 70,049,262 people (2006 estimate) - 17th most populous country
Area of Iran: 1,648,195 km² (636,372 sq mi) - 18th largest country
Atlas of Iran

[edit] Environment of Iran

An enlargeable satellite image of Iran

Main article: Environment of Iran

[edit] Natural geographic features of Iran

Main article: Landforms of Iran

[edit] Regions of Iran

[edit] Ecoregions of Iran

Main article: Ecoregions in Iran

[edit] Administrative divisions of Iran

Main article: Administrative divisions of Iran

Provinces of Iran
- Counties of Iran
  - Municipalities of Iran

[edit] Demography of Iran

Main article: Demographics of Iran

[edit] Government and politics of Iran

Main article: Government of Iran and Politics of Iran

Form of government: Islamic republic
Capital of Iran: Tehran

Elections in Iran
- (specific elections)
Political parties in Iran
Political scandals of Iran
Taxation in Iran

[edit] Branches of the government of Iran

Main article: Government of Iran

[edit] Executive branch of the government of Iran

Assembly of Experts
- Elects the Supreme Leader
- Has the constitutional authority to remove the Supreme Leader from power at any time
- Supervises the Supreme Leader in the performance of legal duties
Head of state: Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei
Head of government: President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Vice President of Iran - anyone appointed by the President to lead an organization related to Presidential affairs. There are currently 10 Vice Presidents in Iran:
1. First Vice President, Parviz Dawoodi
2. Vice President and Head of Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh
3. Vice President and Head of Environmental Protection Organization, Fatemeh Javadi
4. Vice President and Head of Management and Planning Organization, Farhad Rahbar
5. Vice President for Executive Affairs, Ali Saeedlou
6. Vice President and Head of National Sports Organization, Mohammad Aliabadi
7. Vice President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ahmad Mousavi
8. Vice President and Head of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Foundation, Hossein Dehghan
9. Vice President and Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization Chief, Esfandyar Rahim Moshaei
10. Vice President and Head of Youth National Organization, Mohammad Javad Ali Akbari
Council of Ministers of Iran

[edit] Legislative branch of the government of Iran

Majlis of Iran (unicameral parliament)
- drafts legislation
- ratifies international treaties
- approves the national budget
Guardian Council
- 12 members
  - 6 appointed by the Supreme Leader
  - 6 elected by the Majlis
- Powers and responsibilities:
  - Supervises elections
  - Approves or rejects candidates for President, Majlis, and the Assembly of Experts
  - Reviews all bills passed by the Majlis for constitutionality and compatibility with Islamic law, and approves or vetos them
Expediency Discernment Council
- Appointed by Supreme Leader
- Main purpose is to mediate disputes between between the Majlis and the Council of Guardians
- Also serves as an advisory board to the Supreme Leader