Introduction

Location of Iran
Location of Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran
جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Persian)
Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân
ISO 3166 codeIR

Iran, (Persian: ايران, Īrān; pronunciation: [iːˈɾɒn]), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ايران, transliteration: Jomhūrī-ye Eslāmī-ye Īrān), also known as Persia, is a country in Western Asia. The 18th largest country in the world, Iran is approximately the size of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany combined and has a population of over 82 million people. Iran borders Armenia, Azerbaijan, to the north-west, Russia and Kazakhstan through the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the north-east, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and Turkey and Iraq to the west. The greater part of Iran is situated on the Iranian plateau. In addition, it borders the Persian Gulf, an important oil-producing area, and the Caspian Sea. Shi'a Islam is the official state religion and Persian the official language. The political system of Iran comprises several intricately connected governing bodies and is based on the 1979 Constitution. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader, currently served by Ali Khamenei.

Iran has one of the oldest histories in the world, extending more than 5000 years, and throughout history, Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia. Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC, OPEC, and ECO. Iran as a major regional power occupies an important position in the world economy due to its substantial reserves of petroleum and natural gas, and has considerable regional influence in Western Asia. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan and literally means "Land of the Aryans." (Full article...)

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Selected picture

Ancient bracelet, Achaemenid period
Ancient bracelet, Achaemenid period
Credit: Shauni

Ancient bracelet, Achaemenid period, part of Oxus Treasure, 500 BCE, Iran

More did you know...

Did you know?

In the news

Selected articles - load new batch

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

In this month

Selected quote

Mohsen Kadivar
There are approximately 100,000 clerics in Iran and over 60,000 of them are in Qom. Most of them are theology students who have been studying there for many years, between 10-25 years on average.... Every student has to study a minimum of 25 years before he can attain the status of ‘ayatollah’, however most students spend 10 years studying in the hawza.

Topics

Recognized content

Extended content

Categories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories

Religions in Iran


Arab states


Other countries

WikiProjects

Parent projects

WikiProjects

AsiaWestern AsiaCountries
Main project
WikiProject Iran
Sub-projects
Persian cinemaPersian literatureZoroastrianism
Related projects
GeographyHistoryArmeniaAzerbaijanCaucasiaCentral AsiaIraqRussiaGeorgiaIslamKurdistanAfghanistanTurkmenistanTajikistanGreeceTurkey
You are invited to participate in WikiProject Iran, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Iran

~~~~

Things you can do

Things you can do
Things you can do

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Sources

More portals