Iran was referred to as Persia by
the West, due to
Greek historians who referred to all of Iran as Persís, meaning 'the land of the
Persians'.[17][18][19][20]Persia is the
Fars province in southwest Iran, the 4th largest province, also known as Pârs.[21][22] The
PersianFârs (فارس), derived from the earlier form Pârs (پارس), which is in turn derived from Pârsâ (
Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿). Due to Fars' historical importance,[23][24]Persia originated from
this territory through Greek in around 550 BC,[25] and Westerners referred to the country as Persia,[26][27] until 1935, when
Reza Shah requested the international community to use its native and original name, Iran;[28] Iranians called their nation Iran since at least 1000 BC.[21]Iran and Persia are used culturally, while Iran remains mandatory in official use.[29][30][31][32][33]
During the
Bronze Age, the area was home to Iranian civilization,[52][53] including
Elam,
Jiroft, and
Zayanderud. Elam, the most prominent, continued until the Iranian empires. The advent of writing in Elam was parallelled to
Sumer; the
Elamite cuneiform developed beginning in the third millennium BC.[54] Elam was part of the early
urbanization of the Near East during the
Chalcolithic period. Diverse artifacts from the Bronze Age, huge structures from the Iron Age and sites dating back to the Sassanid, Parthian and Islamic eras indicated suitable conditions for human civilization over the past 8,000 years in
Piranshahr.[55][56] From the 34th to the 20th century BC, northwest Iran was part of the
Kura-Araxes culture, which stretched into the neighbouring
Caucasus and
Anatolia.
By the 2nd millennium BC,
ancient Iranian peoples arrived from the
Eurasian Steppe,[57] rivalling the natives.[58][59] As the
Iranians dispersed into
Greater Iran, it was dominated by
Median,
Persian, and
Parthian tribes.[60] From the 10th to 7th century BC, Iranian peoples, together with pre-Iranian kingdoms, fell under the
Assyrian Empire, based in
Mesopotamia.[61] The Medes and Persians entered into an alliance with
Babylonian ruler
Nabopolassar, and attacked the
Assyrians. Civil war ravaged the Assyrian Empire between 616-605 BC, freeing peoples from three centuries of Assyrian rule.[62] The interference of the Assyrians in
Zagros unified the Median tribes by
Deioces in 728 BC, the foundation of the
Median Kingdom and their capital
Ecbatana, unifying Iran as a state for the first time in 625 BC.[63] By 612 BC, the Medes with the Babylonians overthrown the Assyrian Empire.[64] This ended the
Kingdom of Urartu.[65][66]
Iran remained under Seleucid occupation until 250–247 BC, when the native
Parthiansliberated Parthia in the northeast, and rebelled against the Seleucids, founding the
Parthian Empire. Parthians became the main power, and the geopolitical arch-rivalry between the
Romans and the Parthians began, culminating in the
Roman–Parthian Wars. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the north reaches of the
Euphrates in present-day Turkey, to
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Located on the
Silk Road trade route between the
Roman Empire and
China, it became a commercial center. As the Parthians expanded west, they conflicted with
Armenia and the
Roman Republic.[citation needed]
After five centuries of Parthian rule, civil war proved more dangerous to stability, than invasion. Parthian power evaporated when Persian ruler
Ardashir I, killed
Artabanus IV, and founded the
Sasanian Empire in 224 AD. Sassanids and their arch-rival, the
Roman-
Byzantines, were the world's dominant powers for four centuries. Late antiquity is one of Iran's most influential periods,[71] its influence reached
ancient Rome,[72][73]Africa,[74]China, and
India,[75] and played a prominent role in the mediaeval art of
Europe and
Asia.[76][77] Sasanian rule was a high point, characterized by sophisticated bureaucracy, and revitalized
Zoroastrianism as a legitimizing and unifying force.[78]
In 750, the
Abbasids overthrew the
Umayyads.[90] Arab Muslims and Persians made up the rebel army, which was united by Persian
Abu Muslim.[91][92] In their struggle for power, society became cosmopolitan. Persians and Turks replaced Arabs. A hierarchy of officials emerged, a bureaucracy at first Persian and later
Turkish which decreased Abbasid prestige and power for good.[93] After two centuries of Arab rule, Iranian Muslim dynasties in the Plateau rose, appearing on the fringes of the declining
Abbasid Caliphate.[94] The
Iranian Intermezzo was an interlude between Abbasid rule by Arabs, and the "
Sunni Revival", with the 11th-century emergence of the
Seljuks. The Intermezzo revived the
Iranian national spirit and culture in Islamic form, and the
Persian language. The most significant literature was
Shahnameh by
Ferdowsi, the national epic.[95][96][97][98]
The blossoming
literature,
philosophy,
mathematics,
medicine,
astronomy and
art became major elements in the
Islamic Golden Age.[99][100] This Golden Age peaked in the 10th and 11th centuries, when Iran was the main theatre of scientific activities.[101] The 10th century saw a mass migration of
Turkic tribes from
Central Asia to Iran. Turkic tribesmen were first used in the Abbasid army as
mamluks (slave-warriors);[102] and gained significant political power. Portions of Iran were occupied by the
Seljuk and
Khwarezmian empires.[103][104] The result of the adoption and patronage of Iranian culture by Turkish rulers was the development of a distinct
Turco-Persian tradition.
Between 1219-1221, under the
Khwarazmian Empire, Iran suffered under the
Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire. According to Steven Ward, "
Mongol violence... killed up to three-fourths of the population of the Iranian Plateau, possibly 10 to 15 million people....Iran's population did not...reach its pre-Mongol levels until the mid-20th century." Others believe this to be an exaggeration by Muslim chroniclers.[105][106][107] Following the fracture of the Mongol Empire in 1256,
Hulegu Khan established the
Ilkhanate Empire in Iran. In 1357, the capital
Tabriz was occupied by the
Golden Horde and centralised power collapsed, resulting in rivalling dynasties. In 1370, yet another Mongol,
Timur, took control of Iran, and established the
Timurid Empire. In 1387, Timur ordered the complete massacre of
Isfahan, killing 70,000 people.[108]
Relations between Safavids and the West began with the Portuguese, in the Persian Gulf, from the 16th century, oscillating between alliances and war up to the 18th century. The Safavid era saw integration from
Caucasian populations and their resettlement within Iran's heartlands. In 1588,
Abbas the Great ascended during a troubled period. Iran developed the
ghilman system where thousands of
Circassian,
Georgian, and
Armenian slave-soldiers joined the administration and military. The
Christian Iranian-Armenian community is the largest minority in Iran today.[118]
In 1729,
Nader Shah Afshar drove out and conquered Pashtun invaders. He took back the Caucasian territories which
were divided among the Ottoman and Russian authorities. Iran reached its greatest extent since the Sasanian Empire, reestablishing hegemony over the
Caucasus,
west and
central Asia, arguably the most powerful empire at that time.[120] Nader
invaded India and sacked Delhi by the 1730s. His army defeated the
Mughals at the
Battle of Karnal and captured their capital. Historians have described him as the "
Napoleon of Iran" and "the Second
Alexander".[121][122] Nader's territorial expansion and military successes declined following
campaigns in the Northern Caucasus against revolting
Lezgins. Nader became cruel as a result of illness and desire to extort more taxes to pay for campaigns. Nader crushed revolts, building towers from victims' skulls in imitation of his hero Timur.[123][124] After his assassination in 1747, most of Nader's empire was divided between the
Zands,
Durranis,
Georgians, and
Caucasian khanates, while Afsharid rule was limited to a small state in
Khorasan. His death sparked civil war, after which
Karim Khan Zand came to power in 1750.[125]
Compared to preceding dynasties, the Zands' geopolitical reach was limited. Many Iranian territories in the Caucasus gained autonomy and ruled through
Caucasian khanates. However, they remained
subjects and vassals to the Zand kingdom. It expanded to include much of Iran as well as parts of modern
Iraq. The lands of present-day
Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and
Georgia were controlled by khanates - legally part of Zand rule, but actually autonomous.[126] The reign of its most important ruler,
Karim Khan, was marked by prosperity and peace. With his capital in
Shiraz, arts and architecture flourished. Following Khan's death in 1779, Iran went into decline due to civil war within the Zand dynasty. Its last ruler,
Lotf Ali Khan, was executed by
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar in 1794.
The Qajars took control in 1794 and founded the
Qajar Empire. In 1795, following the disobedience of
Georgians and their
Russian alliance, the Qajars captured
Tbilisi at the
Battle of Krtsanisi, and drove the Russians out of the Caucasus, re-establishing Iranian
suzerainty. In 1796,
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar seized
Mashhad with ease, and ended Afsharid rule. He was crowned king and chose
Tehran as capital; it still is today. His reign saw a return to a centralized and unified Iran. He was cruel and rapacious, while also viewed as a pragmatic, calculating, and shrewd military and political leader.[127][128]
The Russo-Iranian wars of
1804–1813 and
1826–1828 resulted in territorial losses for Iran in the Caucasus:
South Caucasus and
Dagestan.[129] The Russians took over Iran's integral territories in the region, which was confirmed in the treaties of
Gulistan and
Turkmenchay.[130][131][132][133] The weakening of Iran made it a victim of the struggle between Russia and Britain known as the
Great Game.[134] Especially after the treaty of Turkmenchay, Russia was the dominant force in Iran,[135] while the Qajars would play a role in 'Great Game' battles such as the sieges of Herat in
1837 and
1856. As Iran shrank, many
South Caucasian and
North Caucasian Muslims moved towards Iran,[136] especially until the
Circassian genocide, and the decades afterwards, while Iran's Armenians were encouraged to settle in the newly incorporated Russian territories,[137][138] causing demographic shifts. Around 1.5 million people—20 to 25% of the population—died as a result of the
Persian famine of 1870–1872.[139]
In 1951,
Mohammad Mosaddegh was democratically elected
Prime Minister of Iran. Mosaddegh became popular after he
nationalized the oil industry, which had been controlled by foreign interests. He worked to weaken the monarchy until he was removed in the 1953 Iran coup—an Anglo-American covert operation.[152] Before its removal, Mosaddegh's administration introduced social and political measures such as social security, land reforms and higher taxes, including the introduction of tax on the rent of land. Mosaddegh was imprisoned, then put under
house arrest until his death and buried in his home to prevent a political furore. In 2013, the US government acknowledged its role in the coup, including paying protestors and bribing officials.[153] After the coup, Pahlavi aligned Iran with the
Western Bloc and cultivated a close relationship with the United States to consolidate his power as an authoritarian ruler, relying heavily on American support amidst the Cold War.
The Grand AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini first came to political prominence in 1963, when he led opposition to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his
White Revolution. Khomeini was arrested after declaring Reza a "wretched miserable man" who had "embarked on the...destruction of Islam in Iran."[154] Major riots followed, with 15,000 killed by the police.[155] Khomeini was released after eight months of house arrest and continued his agitation, condemning Iran's cooperation with Israel and its
capitulations, or extension of
diplomatic immunity, to US government personnel. In November 1964, Khomeini was re-arrested and
sent into exile, where he remained for 15 years.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi became
autocratic and
sultanistic, and Iran entered a decade of controversially-close relations with the US.[156] While Mohammad Reza modernised Iran and claimed to retain it as a
secular state,[157] arbitrary arrests and torture by his secret police, the
SAVAK, were used for crushing opposition.[158] Due to the
1973 oil crisis, the economy was flooded with foreign currency, causing
inflation. By 1974, Iran was experiencing double-digit inflation, and despite large modernising projects,
corruption was rampant. By 1976, a
recession increased unemployment, especially among youths who had migrated to the cities for construction jobs during the boom years of the early 1970s. By the late 1970s, they protested against Pahlavi's regime.[159]
As ideological and political tensions persisted between Pahlavi and Khomeini, demonstrations began in October 1977, developing into civil resistance, including
secularism and
Islamism.[160] In 1978, the death of hundreds in the
Cinema Rex fire in August, and September's
Black Friday—catalysed the revolutionary movement, with nation-wide strikes and demonstrations paralyzing the country.[161][162][163] After
a year of strikes and
demonstrations, in January 1979, Pahlavi fled to the US,[164] and
Khomeini returned in February, forming a new government.[165] Millions of people gathered to greet him as he landed in the capital city
Tehran.[166]
Following the
March 1979 referendum, in which 98% of voters approved the shift to an
Islamic republic, the government began to draft a
Constitution, and Ayatollah Khomeini emerged as
Supreme Leader of Iran in December 1979. He became
Time magazine's
Man of the Year in 1979 for his international influence, and been described as the "virtual face of Shia Islam in Western popular culture".[167] Following Khomeini's order to purge officials loyal to Pahlavi, many former ministers and officials, were
executed.[168] In the
aftermath of the revolution, Iran began to back
Shia militancy around the world to combat
Sunni influence and establish Iranian dominance within the
Muslim world. The
Cultural Revolution began in 1980, with threats to close universities which did not conform to Islamization. All universities were closed in 1980, and reopened in 1983.[169][170][171]
In September 1980, Iraq invaded
Khuzestan, initiating the
Iran–Iraq War. While Iraq hoped to take advantage of
Iran's post-revolutionary chaos, the Iraqi military only made progress for three months, and by December 1980, the forces of
Saddam Hussein had stalled. By mid-1982, Iranian forces began to gain momentum, successfully
driving the Iraqis back into Iraq, and regaining all lost territory by June 1982. Iran rejected
United Nations Security Council Resolution 514 and launched an invasion, capturing cities such as
Basra. Iranian offensives in Iraq lasted for five years, with Iraq launching counter-offensives.
War continued until 1988, when Iraq defeated Iranian forces inside Iraq, and pushed Iranian troops back across the border. Khomeini accepted
a truce mediated by the United Nations: both withdrew to their pre-war borders. It was the longest
conventional war of the 20th century and second longest after the
Vietnam War. Total Iranian casualties were estimated to be 123,000–160,000
KIA, 61,000
MIA, and 11,000–16,000
civilians killed.[175][176] Since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, Iran has shaped Iraq's politics, and
relations between the two has warmed immensely.[177][178][179] Significant military assistance has been provided by Iran to Iraq, resulting in Iran holding a large amount of influence and foothold. Iraq is heavily dependent on the more stable and developed Iran for its energy needs.[180][181]
Since the 1990s
In 1989,
Akbar Rafsanjani concentrated on a pro-business policy of rebuilding the economy without breaking with the ideology of the revolution. He supported a
free market domestically, favoring
privatization of state industries and a moderate position internationally. In 1997, Rafsanjani was succeeded by moderate
reformistMohammad Khatami, whose government advocated
freedom of expression, constructive diplomatic relations with Asia and the
European Union, and an economic policy that supported a free market and foreign investment.
The
2005 presidential election brought conservative
populist candidate
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. He was known for his hardline views, nuclearisation, and hostility towards
Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the US and other states. He was the first president to be summoned by the
parliament to answer questions regarding his presidency.[182] In 2013, centrist and reformist
Hassan Rouhani was elected president. In domestic policy, he encouraged personal freedom, free access to information, and improved women's rights. He improved Iran's diplomatic relations through exchanging conciliatory letters.[183]
Iran has an area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi). It is the
sixth-largest country entirely in Asia and the second-largest in West Asia.[205] It lies between latitudes
24° and
40° N, and longitudes
44° and
64° E. It is bordered to the northwest by
Armenia (35 km or 22 mi), the Azeri exclave of
Nakhchivan (179 km or 111 mi),[206] and the
Republic of Azerbaijan (611 km or 380 mi); to the north by the
Caspian Sea; to the northeast by
Turkmenistan (992 km or 616 mi); to the east by
Afghanistan (936 km or 582 mi) and Pakistan (909 km or 565 mi); to the south by the
Persian Gulf and the
Gulf of Oman; and to the west by
Iraq (1,458 km or 906 mi) and Turkey (499 km or 310 mi).
Iran is in a seismically active area.[207] On average, an earthquake of magnitude seven on the
Richter scale occurs once every ten years.[208] Most earthquakes are shallow-focus and can be very devastating, such as the
2003 Bam earthquake.
Iran consists of the
Iranian Plateau. It is one of the world's most mountainous countries, its landscape is dominated by rugged
mountain ranges that separate
basins or
plateaus. The populous west part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the
Caucasus,
Zagros, and
Alborz, the last containing
Mount Damavand, Iran's highest point, at 5,610 m (18,406 ft), which is the highest volcano in Asia. Iran's mountains have impacted its politics and economics for centuries.
The north part is covered by the lush lowland
Caspian Hyrcanian forests, near the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. The east part consists mostly of
desert basins, such as the
Kavir Desert, which is the country's largest desert, and the
Lut Desert, as well as
salt lakes. The Lut Desert is the hottest recorded spot on the Earth's surface, with 70.7 °C recorded in 2005.[209][210][211][212] The only large
plains are found along the coast of the Caspian and at the north end of the Persian Gulf, where the country borders the mouth of the
Arvand river. Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along the remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the
Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman.[213][214][215]
Iranian islands are mainly located in the Persian Gulf. Iran has 102 islands in
Urmia Lake, 427 in
Aras River, several in
Anzali Lagoon,
Ashurade Island in the
Caspian Sea, Sheytan Island in the
Oman Sea and other inland islands. Iran has an uninhabited island at the far end of the
Gulf of Oman, near Pakistan. A few islands can be visited by tourists. Most are owned by the military or used for wildlife protection, and entry is prohibited or requires a permit.[216][217][218]
Iran's climate is diverse, ranging from
arid and
semi-arid, to
subtropical along the Caspian coast and northern forests.[239] On the north edge of the country, temperatures rarely fall below freezing and the area remains humid. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 °C (84.2 °F).[240] Annual precipitation is 680 mm (26.8 in) in the east part of the plain and more than 1,700 mm (66.9 in) in the west part. The UN Resident Coordinator for Iran, has said that "
Water scarcity poses the most severe human security challenge in Iran today".[241]
To the west, settlements in the Zagros basin experience lower temperatures, severe winters with freezing average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall. The east and central basins are arid, with less than 200 mm (7.9 in) of rain and have occasional deserts.[242] Average summer temperatures rarely exceed 38 °C (100.4 °F). The southern coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers. The annual precipitation ranges from 135 to 355 mm (5.3 to 14.0 in).[243]
More than one-tenth of the country is
forested.[244] About 120 million hectares of forests and fields are government-owned for national exploitation.[245][246] Iran's forests can be divided into five vegetation regions:
Hyrcanian region which forms the green belt of the north side of the country; the
Turan region, which are mainly scattered in the center of Iran;
Zagros region, which mainly contains oak forests in the west; the
Persian Gulf region, which is scattered in the southern coastal belt; the
Arasbarani region, which contains rare and unique species. More than 8,200
plant species are grown. The land covered by natural flora is four times that of Europe's.[247] There are over 200 protected areas to preserve biodiversity and wildlife, with over 30 being
national parks.
The
Supreme Leader ("Rahbar"), or Leader of the Revolution,[253] is head of state and responsible for supervision of policy. The president has limited power compared to the Rahbar. The current longtime Rahbar is
Ali Khamenei.[254][255] Key ministers are selected with the Rahbar's agreement and they have the ultimate say on foreign policy.[256] The Rahbar is directly involved in ministerial appointments for Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, as well as other top ministries after submission of candidates from the president.
Regional policy is directly controlled by the Rahbar, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. Ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the
Quds Force, which directly reports to the Rahbar.[257] The Rahbar can order laws to be amended.[258]Setad was estimated at $95 billion in 2013 by Reuters, accounts of which are secret even to the
parliament.[259][260]
The Rahbar is the
commander-in-chief of the
armed forces, controls military intelligence and security operations, and has sole power to declare war or peace. The heads of the judiciary, state radio and television networks, commanders of the police and military, and 6 of the 12 members of the
Guardian Council are appointed by the Rahbar.
The
Assembly of Experts is responsible for electing the Rahbar, and has the power to dismiss him on the basis of qualifications and popular esteem.[261] To date, the Assembly of Experts has not challenged any of the Rahbar's decisions nor attempted to dismiss him. The previous head of the judicial system,
Sadeq Larijani, appointed by the Rahbar, said that it is illegal for the Assembly of Experts to supervise the Rahbar.[262] Many believe the Assembly of Experts has become a ceremonial body without any real power.[263][264][265]
After the Supreme Leader, the Constitution defines the
president as the highest state authority. The President is elected by
universal suffrage for four years, but is required to gain the Leader's official approval before being sworn in. The Leader has the power to dismiss the president.[269] The President can only be re-elected for one term.[270]
The President is responsible for the implementation of the constitution, and for the exercise of executive powers in implementing the decrees and general policies as outlined by the Rahbar, except for matters directly related to the Rahbar, who has the final say.[271] The President functions as the executive of affairs such as signing treaties and other international agreements, and administering national planning, budget, and state employment affairs, all as approved by the Rahbar.[272][273]
The President appoints ministers, subject to the approval of the Parliament, and the Rahbar, who can dismiss or reinstate any minister.[274][275][276] The President supervises the
Council of Ministers, coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the legislature.[277] Eight Vice Presidents serve under the President, as well as a cabinet of 22 ministers.[278]
Presidential and parliamentary candidates must be approved by the 12-member
Guardian Council (all members of which are appointed by the Leader) or the Leader, before running to ensure their allegiance.[279] The Leader rarely does the vetting, but has the power to do so, in which case additional approval of the Guardian Council is not needed. The Leader can revert the decisions of the Guardian Council.[280]
The constitution gives the council three mandates: veto power over legislation passed by the
parliament,[281][282] supervision of elections[283] and approving or disqualifying candidates seeking to run in local, parliamentary, presidential, or Assembly of Experts elections.[284] The Council can nullify a law based on two accounts: being against
Sharia (Islamic law), or being against the constitution.[285]
The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) is at the top of the foreign policy decisions process.[286][287][288] The council was formed during the
1989 Iranian constitutional referendum for the protection and support of national interests, the revolution, territorial integrity and national sovereignty.[289] It is mandated by Article 176 of the
Constitution to be presided over by the
president.[290][291]
The Leader selects the secretary of the Supreme Council, and the decisions of the Council are effective after the confirmation by the Leader. The SNSC formulates nuclear policy, and would become effective if they are confirmed by the Leader.[292][293]
The legislature, known as the
Islamic Consultative Assembly (ICA), also known as the Iranian Parliament, is a
unicameral body comprising 290 members elected for four-years.[294] It drafts legislation, ratifies international
treaties, and approves the national budget. All parliamentary candidates and legislation from the assembly must be approved by the
Guardian Council.[295][296] The Guardian Council can and has dismissed elected members of the parliament.[297][298] The parliament has no legal status without the Guardian Council, and the Council holds absolute veto power over legislation.[299]
The
Expediency Discernment Council has the authority to mediate disputes between Parliament and the Guardian Council, and serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, making it one of the most powerful governing bodies in Iran.[300][301]
The Parliament has 207 constituencies, including the 5
reserved seats for religious minorities. The remaining 202 are territorial, each covering one or more of Iran's
counties.
Iran uses a form of
sharia law as its legal system, with elements of European
civil law. The Supreme Leader appoints the head of the Supreme Court and chief public prosecutor. There are several types of courts, including public courts that deal with civil and criminal cases, and
revolutionary courts which deal with certain offences, such as crimes against
national security. The decisions of the revolutionary courts are final and cannot be appealed.
The Chief Justice is the head of the judicial system and responsible for its administration and supervision. He is the highest judge of the
Supreme Court of Iran. The Chief Justice nominates candidates to serve as minister of justice, and the President selects one. The Chief Justice can serve for two five-year terms.[302]
The
Special Clerical Court handles crimes allegedly committed by
clerics, although it has taken on cases involving
laypeople. The Special Clerical Court functions independently of the regular judicial framework and is accountable only to the Rahbar. The Court's rulings are final and cannot be appealed.[303] The Assembly of Experts, which meets for one week annually, comprises 86 "virtuous and learned" clerics elected by adult suffrage for 8-year terms.
Iran is divided into
five regions with
31 provinces (ostān, استان), each governed by an appointed governor. The provinces are divided into
counties, and subdivided into
districts and sub-districts.
Russia is a key trading partner, especially in regard to its excess oil reserves.[317][318] Both share a close economic and military alliance, and are subject to heavy sanctions by Western nations.[319][320][321][322] Iran is the only country in Western Asia that has been invited to join the
CSTO, the Russia-based international treaty organization that parallels
NATO.[323]
Relations between Iran and
China is strong economically; they have developed a friendly, economic and strategic relationship. In 2021, Iran and China signed a
25-year cooperation agreement that will strengthen the relations between the two countries and would include "political, strategic and economic" components.[324]Iran-China relations dates back to at least 200 BC and possibly earlier.[325][326] Iran is one of the few countries in the world that has a good relationship with both
North and
South Korea.[327]
Iran has over 610,000 active troops and around 350,000 reservists, totalling over 1 million military personnel, one of the world's highest
percentage of citizens with military training.[331][332][333][334] The Basij, a
paramilitary volunteer militia within the IRGC, has over 20 million members, 600,000 available for immediate call-up, 300,000 reservists, and a million that could be mobilized when necessary.[335][336][337][338] Faraja, the Iranian uniformed
police force, has over 260,000 active personnel. Most statistical organizations do not include the Basij and Faraja in their ratings report.
Excluding the Basij and Faraja, Iran has been identified as a major military power, owing it to the size and capabilities of its armed forces. It possesses the world's 14th strongest military.[339] It ranks 13th globally in terms of overall military strength, 7th in the number of active military personnel,[340] and 9th in the size of both its ground force and armoured force. Iran's armed forces are the largest in
West Asia and comprise the greatest
Army Aviation fleet in the
Middle East.[341][342][343] Iran is among the top 15 countries in terms of military budget.[344] In 2021, its military spending increased for the first time in four years, to $24.6 billion, 2.3% of the national GDP.[345] Funding for the IRGC accounted for 34% of Iran's total military spending in 2021.[346]
In 2018, however, the
US withdrew from the deal under the
Trump administration, and reimposed sanctions. This was met with resistance by Iran and other members of the P5+1.[369][370][371] A year later, Iran began decreasing its compliance.[372] By 2020, Iran announced it would no longer observe any limit set by the agreement.[373][374] Progress since then has brought Iran to the
nuclear threshold status.[375][376][377] As of November 2023[update], Iran had uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile content, close to weapon grade.[378][379][380][381] Some analysts already regard Iran as a de facto nuclear power.[382][383][384]
Since the
Revolution, Iran has grown its influence across and beyond the region.[389][390][391][392] It has built military forces with a wide network of state and none-state actors, starting with
Hezbollah in
Lebanon in 1982.[393][394] The
IRGC has been key to Iranian influence, through its
Quds Force.[395][396][397] The instability in Lebanon (from the 1980s),[398]Iraq (from 2003) [399] and
Yemen (from 2014) [400] has allowed Iran to build strong alliances and footholds beyond its borders. Iran has a prominent influence in the social services, education, economy and politics of Lebanon,[401][402] and Lebanon provides Iran access to the
Mediterranean Sea.[403][404] Hezbollah's strategic successes against Israel, such as its symbolic victory during the
2006 Israel–Hezbollah War, elevated Iran's influence in the
Levant and strengthened its appeal across the
Muslim World.[405][406]
Since the
US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the arrival of
ISIS in the mid-2010s, Iran has financed and trained militia groups in Iraq.[407][408][409] Since the
Iran-Iraq war in 1980s and the fall of
Saddam Hussein, Iran has shaped Iraq's politics.[410][411][412] Following Iraq's struggle against ISIS in 2014, companies linked to the IRGC such as
Khatam al-Anbiya, started to build roads, power plants, hotels and businesses in Iraq, creating an economic corridor worth around $9 billion before
COVID-19.[413] This is expected to grow to $20 billion.[414][415]
In
Syria, Iran has supported President
Bashar al-Assad;[430][431] the two countries are long-standing allies.[432][433] Iran has provided significant military and economic support to Assad's government,[434][435] so has a considerable foothold in Syria.[436][437] Iran has long supported the anti-Israel fronts in
North Africa in countries like
Algeria and
Tunisia, embracing
Hamas in part to help undermine the popularity of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).[438] Iran's support of Hamas emerged more clearly in later years.[439][440][441][442] According to US intelligence, Iran does not have full control over these state and non-state groups.[443]
The Iranian government has been denounced by various international organizations and governments for violating human rights.[445] The government has frequently persecuted and arrested critics of the government. Iranian law does not recognize
Sexual orientations.
Sexual activity between members of the same sex is illegal and is
punishable by death.[446][447]Capital punishment is a legal punishment, and according to the BBC, Iran "carries out more executions than any other country, except China".[448] UN Special Rapporteur
Javaid Rehman has reported discrimination against several ethnic minorities in Iran.[449] A group of
UN experts in 2022 urged Iran to stop "systematic persecution" of religious minorities, adding that members of the
Baháʼí Faith were arrested, barred from universities, or had their homes demolished.[450][451]
The 2006 election results were widely disputed, resulting in
protests.[459][460][461][462] The
2017–18 Iranian protests swept across the country in response to the economic and political situation.[463] It was formally confirmed that thousands of protesters were arrested.[464] The
2019–20 Iranian protests started on 15 November in
Ahvaz, and spread across the country after the government announced increases in fuel prices of up to 300%.[465] A
week-long total Internet shutdown marked one of the most severe Internet blackouts in any country, and the bloodiest governmental crackdown of the protestors.[466] Tens of thousands were arrested and hundreds were killed within a few days according to multiple international observers, including
Amnesty International.[467]
Tehran is the economic powerhouse of Iran.[478] About 30% of Iran's public-sector workforce and 45% of its large industrial firms are located there, and half those firms' employees work for government.[479] The
Central Bank of Iran is responsible for developing and maintaining the
currency: the
Iranian rial. The government does not recognise
trade unions other than the
Islamic labour councils, which are subject to the approval of employers and the security services.[480] Unemployment was 9% in 2022.[481]
In 2006,[needs update] about 45% of the government's budget came from energy revenues, and 31% from taxes and fees.[483]Budget deficits have been a chronic problem, mostly due to
large state subsidies, that include foodstuffs and especially petrol, totalling $100 billion in 2022 for energy alone.[484][485] In 2010, the economic reform plan was to cut subsidies gradually and replace them with targeted social assistance. The objective is to move towards
free market prices and increase productivity and
social justice.[486] The administration continues reform, and indicates it will diversify the oil-reliant economy. Iran has developed a
biotechnology,
nanotechnology, and
pharmaceutical industry.[487] The government is
privatising industries.
Tourism had been growing before the
COVID-19 pandemic, reaching nearly 9 million foreign visitors in 2019, the world's third fastest-growing tourism destination.[492][493] In 2022 it expanded its share to 5% of the economy.[494] Iran's tourism experienced a growth of 43% in 2023, attracting 6 million foreign tourists.[495] The government ended visa requirements for 60 countries in 2023.[496]
98% of visits are for leisure, while 2% are for business, indicating the country's appeal as a tourist destination.[497] Alongside the capital, the most popular tourist destinations are
Isfahan,
Shiraz and
Mashhad.[498] Iran is emerging as a preferred destination for
medical tourism.[499][500] Travellers from other West Asian countries grew 31% in the first seven months of 2023, surpassing
Bahrain,
Kuwait,
Iraq, and
Saudi Arabia.[501]Domestic tourism is one of the world's largests; Iranian tourists spent $33bn in 2021.[502][503][504] Iran projects investment of $32 billion in the tourism sector by 2026.[505]
Roughly one-third of Iran's total surface area is suited for farmland. Only 12% of the total land area is under cultivation, but less than one-third of the cultivated area is
irrigated; the rest is devoted to
dryland farming. Some 92% of agricultural products depend on water.[506] The western and northwestern portions of the country have the most fertile soils. Iran's
food security index stands at around 96 percent.[507][508][509] 3% of the total land area is used for
grazing and fodder production. Most of the grazing is done on mostly semi-dry rangeland in mountain areas and on areas surrounding the large deserts of Central Iran. Progressive government efforts and incentives during the 1990s, improved agricultural productivity, helping Iran toward its goal of reestablishing national self-sufficiency in food production.
Access to the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and many river basins provides Iran the potential to develop excellent fisheries. The government assumed control of commercial fishing in 1952. Expansion of the fishery infrastructure enabled the country to harvest an estimated 700,000 tons of fish annually from the southern waters. Since the Revolution, increased attention has been focused on producing fish from inland waters. Between 1976 and 2004, the combined take from inland waters by the state and private sectors increased from 1,100 tons to 110,175 tons.[510] Iran is the world's largest producer and exporter of
caviar, exporting more than 300 tonnes annually.[511][512]
Iran is globally ranked 16th in car manufacturing, ahead of the
UK,
Italy, and Russia.[514][515] It has outputted 1.188 million cars in 2023, a 12% growth compared to the previous years. Iran has exported various cars to countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Belarus. From 2008 to 2009, Iran leaped to 28th place from 69th in annual industrial production growth rate.[516] Iranian
contractors have been awarded several foreign tender contracts in different fields of construction of
dams,
bridges, roads,
buildings,
railroads,
power generation, and
gas, oil and
petrochemical industries. As of 2011, some 66 Iranian industrial companies are carrying out projects in 27 countries.[517] Iran exported over $20 billion worth of technical and engineering services over 2001–2011. The availability of local raw materials,
rich mineral reserves, experienced manpower have all played crucial role in winning the bids.[518]
Iran is one of the most important mineral producers in the world, ranked among 15 major mineral-rich countries.[523][524] Iran has become self-sufficient in designing, building and operating dams and power plants. Iran is one of the six countries in the world that manufacture gas- and steam-powered turbines.[525]
In 2011 Iran had 173,000 kilometres (107,000 mi) of roads, of which 73% were paved.[526] In 2008 there were nearly 100 passenger cars for every 1,000 inhabitants.[527]Tehran Metro is the largest in the Middle East,[528][529] it carries more than 3 million passengers daily and in 2018, 820 million trips.[530][531] Trains operate on 11,106 km (6,942 mi) of track.[532] The country's major port of entry is
Bandar Abbas on the
Strait of Hormuz. Imported goods are distributed through the country by trucks and freight trains. The
Tehran–Bandar Abbas railroad connects Bandar-Abbas to the railroad system of Central Asia, via Tehran and
Mashhad. Other major ports include
Bandar e-Anzali and
Bandar e-Torkeman on the
Caspian Sea and
Khorramshahr and
Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni on the
Persian Gulf.
Dozens of cities have airports that serve passenger and cargo planes.
Iran Air, the national airline, operates domestic and international flights. All large cities have mass transit systems using buses, and private companies provide bus services between cities. Over a million people work in transport, accounting for 9% of GDP.[533]
Iran manufactures 60–70% of
its industrial equipment domestically, including turbines, pumps, catalysts,
refineries,
oil tankers,
drilling rigs,
offshore platforms, towers, pipes, and exploration instruments.[551] The addition of new
hydroelectric stations and streamlining of conventional coal and oil-fired stations increased installed capacity to 33 GW; about 75% was based on natural gas, 18% on oil, and 7% on hydroelectric power. In 2004, Iran opened its first wind-powered and geothermal plants, and the first
solar thermal plant began in 2009. Iran is the world's third country to develop
GTL technology.[552]
Demographic trends and intensified industrialization have caused
electric power demand to grow by 8% per year. The government's goal of 53 GW of installed capacity by 2010 is to be reached by bringing on line
new gas-fired plants, and adding hydropower and nuclear generation capacity.
Iran's first nuclear power plant went online in 2011.[553][554]
Cardiologist
Tofy Mussivand invented and developed the first artificial cardiac pump, the precursor of the
artificial heart. Furthering research in diabetes, the
HbA1c was discovered by
Samuel Rahbar. Many papers in
string theory are published in Iran.[562] In 2014, Iranian mathematician
Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman, and Iranian, to receive the
Fields Medal, the highest prize in mathematics.[563]
Iran increased its publication output nearly tenfold from 1996 through 2004, and ranked first in output growth rate, followed by China.[564] According to a study by
SCImago in 2012, Iran would rank fourth in research output by 2018, if the trend persisted.[565] The Iranian humanoid robot
Sorena 2, which was designed by engineers at the
University of Tehran, was unveiled in 2010. The
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has placed the name of Surena among the five most prominent robots, after analyzing its performance.[566]
The Iranian Space Agency (ISA) was established in 2004. Iran became an orbital-launch-capable nation in 2009,[567] and is a founding member of the
United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Iran placed its domestically built
satelliteOmid into orbit on the 30th anniversary of the Revolution, in 2009,[568] through its first expendable launch vehicle
Safir. It became the
9th country capable of both producing a satellite and sending it into
space from a domestically made
launcher.[569]Simorgh's launch in 2016, is the successor of Safir.[570]
In January 2024, Iran launched the
Soraya satellite into its highest orbit yet (750 km),[571][572] a new space launch milestone for the country.[573][574] It was launched by
Qaem 100 rocket.[575][576] Iran also successfully launched 3 indigenous satellites, The Mahda, Kayan and Hatef,[577] into orbit using the Simorgh carrier rocket.[578][579] It was the first time in country's history that it simultaneously sent three satellites into space.[580][581] The three satellites are designed for testing advanced satellite subsystems, space-based positioning technology, and narrowband communication.[582]
In February 2024, Iran launched its domestically developed imaging satellite, Pars 1, from Russia into orbit.[583][584] This was the second time since August 2022, when Russia launched another Iranian remote-sensing,
Khayyam satellite, into orbit from
Kazakhstan, reflecting deep scientific cooperation between the countries.[585][586]
Iran's telecommunications industry is almost entirely state-owned, dominated by the
Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI). As of 2020, 70 million Iranians use high-speed mobile internet. Iran is among the first five countries which have had a growth rate of over 20 percent and the highest level of development in telecommunication.[588] Iran has been awarded the UNESCO special certificate for providing telecommunication services to rural areas.
Iran has the worst internet quality anywhere in the world.[589][590]
Population of Iranian provinces and counties in 2021
Iran's population grew rapidly from about 19 million in 1956 to about 85 million by February 2023.[591] However, Iran's
fertility rate has dropped dramatically, from 6.5 children born per woman to about 1.7 two decades later,[592][593][594] leading to a population growth rate of about 1.39% as of 2018.[595] Due to its young population, studies project that the growth will continue to slow until it stabilises around 105 million by 2050.[596][597][598]
Iran hosts one of the largest
refugee populations, with almost one million,[599] mostly from
Afghanistan and
Iraq.[600] According to the
Iranian Constitution, the government is required to provide every citizen with access to
social security, covering retirement, unemployment, old age,
disability, accidents, calamities, health and medical treatment and care services.[601] This is covered by
tax revenues and income derived from public contributions.[602]
The country has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world. From 1950 to 2002, the urban proportion of the population increased from 27% to 60%.[603] Iran's population is concentrated in its western half, especially in the north, north-west and west.[604]
Tehran, with a population of around 8.8 million (2016 census), is Iran's capital and largest city. The country's second most populous city,
Mashhad, has a population of around 3.3 million (2016 census), and is capital of the province of
Razavi Khorasan.
Isfahan has a population of around 2.2 million (2016 census) and is Iran's third most populous city. It is the capital of
Isfahan province and was also the third capital of the
Safavid Empire.
The
Library of Congress issued slightly different estimates: 65% Persians (including Mazenderanis, Gilaks, and the Talysh), 16% Azerbaijanis, 7% Kurds, 6% Lurs, 2% Baloch, 1% Turkic tribal groups (including
Qashqai and
Turkmens), and non-Iranian, non-Turkic groups (including Armenians, Georgians, Assyrians, Circassians, and Arabs) less than 3%.[606][607]
Christianity,
Judaism,
Zoroastrianism, and the Sunni branch of Islam are officially recognised by the government and have reserved seats in the Parliament.[628] Iran is home to the largest Jewish community in the
Muslim World and the
Middle East, outside of Israel.[629][630] Around 250,000 to 370,000
Christians reside in Iran, and Christianity is the country's largest recognised minority religion, most are of Armenian background, as well as a sizable minority of Assyrians.[631][632][633][634] The Iranian government has supported the rebuilding and renovation of Armenian churches, and has supported the
Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran. In 2019, the government registered the
Vank Cathedral, in
Isfahan, as a
World Heritage Site. Currently three Armenian churches in Iran have been included in the World Heritage List.[635][636]
Education is highly centralised.
K–12 is supervised by the
Ministry of Education, and higher education is supervised by the
Ministry of Science and Technology. Literacy among people aged 15 and older was 86% as of 2016[update], with men (90%) significantly more educated than women (81%). Government expenditure on education is around 4% of GDP.[637]
Healthcare is provided by the public-governmental system, the private sector, and
NGOs.[641]
Iran is the only country in the world with a
legal organ trade.[642] Iran has been able to extend public health
preventive services through the establishment of an extensive
Primary Health Care Network. As a result, child and maternal mortality rates have fallen significantly, and life expectancy at birth has risen. Iran's medical knowledge rank is 17th globally, and 1st in the Middle East and North Africa. In terms of medical science production index, Iran ranks 16th in the world.[643] Iran is fast emerging as a preferred destination for
medical tourism.[499]
The country faces the common problem of other
young demographic nations in the region, which is keeping pace with growth of an already huge demand for various public services. An anticipated increase in the population growth rate will increase the need for
public health infrastructures and services.[644] About 90% of Iranians have
health insurance.[645]
From the
Achaemenid Empire of 550–330 BC, the courts of successive dynasties led the style of Persian art, and court-sponsored art left many of the most impressive pieces that remain. The Islamic style of dense decoration, geometrically laid out, developed in Iran into an elegant and harmonious style, combining motifs derived from plants with Chinese motifs such as the cloud-band, and often animals represented at a smaller scale. During the
Safavid Empire in the 16th century, this style was used across a variety of media, and diffused from the court artists of the king, most being painters.[citation needed]
By the time of the Sasanians, Iranian art had a renaissance.[647] During the Middle Ages, Sasanian art played a prominent role in the formation of European and Asian mediaeval art.[648][649][650][651]
The Safavid era is known as the Golden Age of Iranian art.[652]Safavid art exerted noticeable influences upon the
Ottomans, the
Mughals, and the
Deccans, and was influential through its fashion and garden architecture on 11th–17th-century Europe.
Iran's
contemporary art traces its origins to
Kamal-ol-molk, a prominent
realist painter at the court of the
Qajar Empire who affected the norms of painting and adopted a naturalistic style that would compete with photographic works. A new Iranian school of fine art was established by him in 1928, and was followed by the so-called "coffeehouse" style of painting. Iran's
avant-garde modernists emerged by the arrival of new western influences during World War II. The contemporary art scene originates in the late 1940s, and Tehran's first modern art gallery, Apadana, was opened in 1949 by Mahmud Javadipur, Hosein Kazemi, and Hushang Ajudani.[653] The new movements received official encouragement by the 1950s,[654] which led to the emergence of artists such as
Marcos Grigorian.[655]
The history of architecture in Iran dates back to at least 5,000 BC, with characteristic examples distributed over an area from what is now
Turkey and
Iraq to
Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan, and from the
Caucasus to
Zanzibar. The Iranians made early use of
mathematics,
geometry and
astronomy in their architecture, yielding a tradition with structural and aesthetic variety.[656] The guiding
motif is its cosmic symbolism.[657]
Without sudden innovations, and despite the trauma of invasions and cultural shocks, it developed a recognizable style distinct from other regions of the Muslim world. Its virtues are "a marked feeling for form and scale; structural inventiveness, especially in
vault and
dome construction; a genius for decoration with a freedom and success not rivalled in any other architecture".[658] In addition to historic gates, palaces, and mosques, the rapid growth of cities such as Tehran has brought a wave of construction. Iran ranks seventh among
UNESCO's list of countries with the most archaeological ruins and attractions from antiquity.[659]
Iran's carpet-weaving has its origins in the
Bronze Age and is one of the most distinguished manifestations of Iranian art. Carpet weaving is an essential part of
Persian culture and
Iranian art. Persian rugs and carpets were woven in parallel by nomadic tribes in village and town workshops, and by
royal court manufactories. As such, they represent simultaneous lines of tradition, and reflect the history of Iran, Persian culture, and its various peoples. Although the term "Persian carpet" most often refers to pile-woven textiles, flat-woven carpets and rugs like
Kilim,
Soumak, and embroidered tissues like
Suzani are part of the manifold tradition of Persian carpet weaving.
Iran produces three-quarters of the world's handmade carpets, and has 30% of export markets.[662][663] In 2010, the "traditional skills of carpet weaving" in
Fars Province and
Kashan were inscribed to the
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.[664][665][666] Within the
Oriental rugs produced by the countries of the "rug belt", the Persian carpet stands out by the variety and elaborateness of its manifold designs.[citation needed]
Carpets woven in towns and regional centres like
Tabriz,
Kerman,
Ravar,
Neyshabour,
Mashhad,
Kashan,
Isfahan,
Nain and
Qom are characterized by their specific weaving techniques and use of high-quality materials, colours and patterns. Hand-woven Persian rugs and carpets have been regarded as objects of high artistic value and prestige, since they were mentioned by
ancient Greek writers.
Described as one of the great literatures of humanity,[670] including
Goethe's assessment of it as one of the four main bodies of world literature,[671] Persian literature has its roots in surviving works of
Middle Persian and
Old Persian, the latter of which dates back as far as 522 BCE, the date of the earliest surviving
Achaemenid inscription, the
Behistun Inscription. The bulk of surviving Persian literature, however, comes from the times following the
Muslim conquest in c. 650 CE. After the
Abbasids came to power (750 CE), the Iranians became the scribes and bureaucrats of the
Islamic Caliphate and, increasingly, also its writers and poets. The New Persian language literature arose and flourished in
Khorasan and
Transoxiana because of political reasons, early Iranian dynasties of post-Islamic Iran such as the
Tahirids and
Samanids being based in
Khorasan.[672]
Iranian philosophy can be traced back as far as
Old Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient
Indo-Iranian roots and were influenced by
Zarathustra's teachings. Throughout Iranian history and due to remarkable political and social changes such as
the Arab and
Mongol invasions, a wide spectrum of schools of thoughts showed a variety of views on philosophical questions, extending from Old Iranian and mainly
Zoroastrianism-related traditions, to schools appearing in the late pre-Islamic era such as
Manicheism and
Mazdakism as well as post-Islamic schools.
Storytelling has an significant presence in Iranian folklore and culture.[676] In classical Iran, minstrels performed for their audiences at royal courts and in public theatres.[677] A minstrel was referred to by the
Parthians as
gōsān, and by the
Sasanians as huniyāgar.[678] Since the
Safavid Empire, storytellers and poetry readers appeared at coffeehouses.[679][680] After the
Iranian Revolution, it took until 1985 to found the
MCHTH (Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts),[681] a now heavily centralized organization, supervising all kinds of cultural activities. It held the first scientific meeting on anthropology and folklore in 1990.[682]
The
National Museum of Iran in
Tehran is the country's most important cultural institution.[683] As the first and biggest museum in Iran, the institution includes the
Museum of Ancient Iran and the
Museum of the Islamic Era. The National Museum is the world's most important museum in terms of preservation, display and research of archaeological collections of Iran,[684] and ranks as one of the few most prestigious museums globally in terms of volume, diversity and quality of its monuments.[685]
Iran is the apparent birthplace of the earliest complex instruments, dating to the third millennium BC.[689] The use of
angular harps have been documented at Madaktu and
Kul-e Farah, with the largest collection of
Elamite instruments documented at Kul-e Farah.
Xenophon's Cyropaedia mentions singing women at the court of the
Achaemenid Empire. Under the
Parthian Empire, the gōsān (
Parthian for "minstrel") had a prominent role.[690][691]
Iran's first symphony orchestra, the
Tehran Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1933. By the late 1940s,
Ruhollah Khaleqi founded the country's first national music society and established the School of National Music in 1949.[693]Iranian pop music has its origins in the Qajar era.[694] It was significantly developed since the 1950s, using indigenous instruments and forms accompanied by
electric guitar and other imported characteristics.
Iranian rock emerged in the 1960s and
hip hop in the 2000s.[695][696]
Iran has known dance in the forms of music, play, drama or religious rituals since at least the 6th millennium BC. Artifacts with pictures of dancers were found in archaeological prehistoric sites.[697] Genres of dance vary depending on the area, culture, and language of the local people, and can range from sophisticated reconstructions of refined court dances to energetic
folk dances.[698] Each group, region, and historical epoch has specific dance styles associated with it. The earliest researched dance from historic Iran is a dance worshipping Mithra. Ancient Persian dance was significantly researched by Greek historian
Herodotus. Iran was occupied by foreign powers, causing a slow disappearance of heritage dance traditions.
The Qajar period had an important influence on Persian dance. In this period, a style of dance began to be called "
classical Persian dance". Dancers performed artistic dances in court for entertainment purposes such as coronations, marriage celebrations, and
Norouz celebrations. In the 20th century, the music came to be orchestrated and dance movement and costuming gained a modernistic orientation to the West.
The exact date of the emergence of
weaving in Iran is not yet known, but it is likely to coincide with the emergence of
civilization.
Ferdowsi and many historians have considered
Keyumars to be first to use
animals' skin and hair as clothing, while others propose
Hushang.[699] Ferdowsi considers
Tahmuras to be a kind of
textile initiator in Iran. The clothing of ancient Iran took an advanced form, and the fabric and colour of clothing became very important. Depending on the social status, eminence, climate of the region and the season,
Persian clothing during the Achaemenian period took various forms. This clothing, in addition to being functional, had an aesthetic role.[699]
A third-millennium BC earthen goblet discovered at the
Burnt City in southeast Iran depicts what could be the world's oldest example of animation.[701] The earliest attested Iranian examples of visual representations, however, are traced back to the bas-reliefs of Persepolis, the ritual centre of the
Achaemenid Empire.[702]
The oldest Iranian initiation of theatre can be traced to ancient epic ceremonial theatres such as Sug-e Siāvuڑ ("mourning of
Siāvaڑ"), as well as dances and theatre narrations of Iranian mythological tales reported by
Herodotus and
Xenophon. Iran's traditional theatrical genres include Baqqāl-bāzi ("grocer play", a form of slapstick comedy), Ruhowzi (or Taxt-howzi, comedy performed over a courtyard pool covered with boards), Siāh-bāzi (the central comedian appears in blackface), Sāye-bāzi (
shadow play), Xeyme-ڑab-bāzi (
marionette), and Arusak-bāzi (
puppetry), and
Ta'zie (religious tragedy plays).[719]
Iran ranks 17th among
countries by number of Internet users.
Google Search is Iran's most widely used search engine and
Instagram is the most popular online
social networking service.[721] Direct access to many worldwide mainstream websites has been blocked in Iran, including
Facebook, which has been blocked since 2009. About 90% of Iran's
e-commerce takes place on the Iranian online store
Digikala, which has around 750,000 visitors per day and is the most visited online store in the Middle East.[722]
Lunar Islamic public holidays include Tasua (
Muharram 9), Ashura (
Muharram 10), Arba'een (
Safar 20), Muhammad's death (
Safar 28), the death of Ali al-Ridha (
Safar 29 or 30), the birthday of Muhammad (
Rabi-al-Awwal 17), the death of Fatimah (
Jumada-al-Thani 3), the birthday of Ali (
Rajab 13), Muhammad's first revelation (
Rajab 27), the birthday of Muhammad al-Mahdi (
Sha'ban 15), the death of Ali (
Ramadan 21), Eid al-Fitr (
Shawwal 1–2), the death of Ja'far al-Sadiq (
Shawwal 25), Eid al-Qurban (
Zulhijja 10), and Eid al-Qadir (
Zulhijja 18).[778]
^Laroche. 1957. Proto-Iranian *arya- descends from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *ar-yo-, a yo-adjective to a root *ar "to assemble skillfully", present in Greek harma "chariot", Greek aristos, (as in "
aristocracy"), Latin ars "art", etc.
^Borjian, Maryam; Borjian, Habib (2011). "Plights of Persian in the Modernization Era". In Fishman, Joshua A; García, Ofelia (eds.). Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: Volume 2: The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts. New York:
Oxford University Press. p. 266.
ISBN978-0-19-539245-6. 'Iran' and 'Persia' are synonymous. The former has always been used by Iranian-speaking peoples themselves, while the latter has served as the international name of the country in various languages, ever since it was introduced by the Greeks some twenty-five centuries ago. In 1935, however, the nationalist administration under Reza Shah Pahlavi (see below) made a successful effort to replace 'Persia' with 'Iran,' apparently to underline the nation's 'Aryan' pedigree to the international community. The latter term used to signify all branches of the Indo-European language family (and even the 'race' of their speakers), but was practically abandoned after World War II.
^Lewis, Geoffrey (1984). "The naming of names". British Society for Middle Eastern Studies Bulletin. 11 (2): 121–124.
doi:
10.1080/13530198408705394.
^PersiaArchived 15 June 2022 at the
Wayback Machine, Encyclopædia Britannica, "The term Persia was used for centuries... [because] use of the name was gradually extended by the ancient Greeks and other peoples to apply to the whole Iranian plateau."
^Frye, Richard Nelson (October 1962). "Reitzenstein and Qumrân Revisited by an Iranian". The Harvard Theological Review. 55 (4): 261–268.
doi:
10.1017/S0017816000007926.
JSTOR1508723.
S2CID162213219. I use the term Iran in an historical context [...] Persia would be used for the modern state, more or less equivalent to "western Iran". I use the term "Greater Iran" to mean what I suspect most Classicists and ancient historians really mean by their use of Persia – that which was within the political boundaries of States ruled by Iranians.
^Richard Frye (2012).
Persia (RLE Iran A). Routledge. p. 13.
ISBN978-1-136-84154-5. Retrieved 21 June 2013. This 'greater Iran' included and still includes part of the Caucasus Mountains, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iraq; for Kurds, Baluchis, Afghans, Tajiks, Ossetes, and other smaller groups are Iranians
^Farrokh, Kaveh. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War.
ISBN1-84603-108-7
^"Iran". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from
the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
^"Iran". Merriam-Webster.
Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
^J. D. Vigne; J. Peters; D. Helmer (2002). First Steps of Animal Domestication, Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the International Council of Archaeozoology. Oxbow Books, Limited.
ISBN978-1-84217-121-9.
^"Emergence of Agriculture in the Foothills of the Zagros Mountains of Iran", by Simone Riehl, Mohsen Zeidi, Nicholas J. Conard – University of Tübingen, publication 10 May 2013
^Hole, Frank (20 July 2004).
"NEOLITHIC AGE IN IRAN". Encyclopedia Iranica. Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. Archived from
the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
^Afary, Janet; Peter William Avery; Khosrow Mostofi.
"Iran (Ethnic Groups)". Encyclopædia Britannica.
Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
^Sarkhosh Curtis, Vesta; Stewart, Sarah (2005),
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