Iran

Iran () (, Īrān, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran ( transliteration: Jomhūrī-ye Eslāmī-ye Īrān), is a country located in West Asia, known previously as Persia. Iran borders Armenia, Azerbaijan (including its Nakhichevan exclave), and Turkmenistan to the north, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, and Turkey and Iraq to the west. In addition, it borders the Persian Gulf, across which lie Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Shi'a Islam is the official state religion.

Throughout history, Iran has been of great geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia. Iran is a member and co-founder of the United Nations, the OIC, and OPEC. Iran is also significant in international politics on account of its large supply of petroleum. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan and literally means "Land of the Aryans."

Name

In antiquity, the names Ariana and Persis were used to describe the region, as exhibited on this world map by Eratosthenes (c. 200 BCE).

In former ages, the names Ariana and Persian were used to describe the region which is today known as the Iranian plateau. The earliest Iranian reference to the word (airya/arya/aryana etc), however, predates the Iranian prophet Zoroaster (est. anywhere between 1200 to 1800 BCE, according to Plato and other Greek sources as early as 7000 BCE.) and is attested in non-Gathic Avesta; it appears as airya, meaning noble/spiritual/elevated; as airya dainhava (Yt.8.36, 52) meaning the land of the Aryans; and as airyana vaejah, the original land of the Aryans. Other peoples were called Anairya and later Aniranian, meaning un-aryan or non-Aryan.

During the Achaemenid dynasty (550-330 BCE), the Persian people called their provincial homeland Pārsa, the Old Persian name for Cyrus the Great's kingdom which belonged to the Persian tribe of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranians and which can still be found in the term Pars or Fars as part of the heartland of Iran and for example in the map by Eratosthenes and other historical or modern maps.

Darius I of Persia

However, the country as a whole was called Aryanam. The word Ariya, noble/spiritual/elevated, is attested in the Inscriptions of Darius the Great and his son, Xerxes; it is used both as a linguistic and a racial designation as Darius refers to this at the Behistun inscription (DBiv.89), which is written in Aryan language/airyan, also known as Old Persian. Both Darius and Xerxes state in Naqsh-i Rustam (DNa.14), Susa (DSe.13), and Persepolis (XPh.13):

Adam Pārsa, Pārsahyā puça; Ariya, Ariya ciça...

I am Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, belonging to the Aryan race." --Darius the Great (549 BCE - 486 BCE)

In Parthian times (248 BCE�"224 CE) Aryanam was modified to Aryan. In the early Sassanid Period (224�"651 CE) it had already evolved to Middle Persian �'rān or �'rān Shahr which finally resulted in New Persian Iran or Iran Shahr.

At the time of the Achaemenid empire the Greeks called the country Persis, the Greek name for Pars (Fars), the central region where the empire was founded; this passed into Latin and became Persia, the name widely used in Western countries Which causes confusion as Persia is actually Pars (Fars) province.

In the twentieth century, a dispute arose over whether Iran or Persia is the correct name for the country. On 21 March 1935, the ruler of the country, Reza Shah Pahlavi, issued a decree asking foreign delegates to use the term Iran in formal correspondence in accordance with the fact that "Persia" was a term used for a country called "Iran" in Persian. After some scholars protested, his successor, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, announced in 1959 that both Persia and Iran were acceptable, and could be used interchangeably. The 1979 Revolution led to the establishment of the present day theocracy that is officially called the Islamic Republic of Iran, but the noun Persia and the adjective Persian are still commonly used.

History

The 2500 year old ruins of Persepolis.

Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent.

Iran has been inhabited by humans since pre-historic times and recent discoveries have begun to shed light upon what ancient culture was like in Iran, centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia. .

The written history of Persia (Iran) begins around 3200 BCE with the Proto-Elamite civilization, followed by the Elamites. The arrival of the Aryans and the establishing of the Median dynasty culminated in the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Empire (648�"330 BCE), founded by Cyrus the Great. It eventually became the largest and most powerful empire in human history up until that point, ruling and administrating over most of the then known world.[1]

Alexander the great or also known in the Zoroastrian Middle Persian Arda Wiraz Nāmag as "the accursed Alexander" (due to his conquest of the Persian Empire and the destruction of its cities, including the capital Persepolis), conquered Persia in 333 BCE only to be followed shortly by two more vast and unified Persian empires that shaped the pre-Islamic identity of Iran and Central Asia: the Parthian (250 BCE�" 226 CE) and Sassanid (226 �" 650 CE) dynasties. The latter dynasties also defeated the Roman empire at the height of its power on several occasions.

The Silk Road, connecting Persia with China were significant not only for the development and flowering of the great civilizations of China, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, India and Rome but also helped to lay the foundations of our modern world.

Green: Sassanid Empire (602-629), Grey: Under Sassanid military control.

Before the Islamic conquest of Persia, Zoroastrianism was the national religion of the Sassanian Empire of Persia, and played an important role in the earlier Achaemenean and Parthian regimes. The Iranian Prophet Zoroaster is considered by numerous scholars as the founder of the earliest religion based on revealed scripture. Some scholars point to the fact that Judeo-Christianity and Islam owes a great debt to Zoroastrianism in regards to the introduction of eschatology, angelology and demonology, as well as Satan, (da�"va), (Ahriman) as the ultimate agent of evil. Zoroastrianism is uniquely important in the history of religion because it is considered to be one of the first monotheistic religions , and also because of its formative links to both Western Abrahamic and Eastern dharmic religious traditions.Zoroastrian monotheism has had major influence on the religions of the middle eastern monotheisms in adaptations of such concepts as heavens, hells, judgement day and messianic figures.Nonetheless, claims of Zoroastrianism influencing ancient Jewish thought are disputed by some Jewish and Christian scholars, despite the various influencing elements being evident.

An important chapter of Iran's history followed after roughly 600 years of conflict with the Roman Empire, when the war-exhausted Persians lost the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (632 CE) in Hilla, (present day Iraq). The Persian general Rostam Farrokhzād had been criticised for his decision to face the Arabs on their own ground, suggesting that the Persians could have prevailed if they had stayed on the opposite bank of the Euphrates. The first day of Battle ended with Persian advances and the Arab force appeared as though it would succumb to the much larger Sassanian army. In particular, the latter's elephants terrified the Arab cavalry. By the third day of battle, Arab veterans arrived on the scene and re-inforced the Arab army. In addition a clever trick whereby the Arab horses were decorated in costume succeeded in frightening the Persian elephants. When an Arab warrior succeeded in slaying the lead elephant, the rest fled into the rear, trampelling numerous Persian fighters. At dawn of the fourth day, a sandstorm broke out blowing sand in the Persian army's faces resulting in total disarray for the Sassanian army and paving way for the Islamic conquest of Persia.

9th�"11th century Persia was the heart and mind of the Islamic Golden Age.

Naghsh-i Jahan Square, second largest city square in the world is a great example of Persian architecture.

Avicenna (Ibn-Sina) was the greatest of the medieval Islamic and Persian physicians, whose work had a direct impact on the Renaissance.

After the conquest Persians began to look for ways in which they could remain Muslim but also define themselves as Persian and sought the "Persianisation" of Islam. Shia Islam, Irans state religion today, has an enormous amount of Persian influence in it. Meanwhile as Europe was in the dark ages, Persia and Persian scientists created an Islamic Golden Age, (see List of Iranian scientists and scholars) becoming the heart and mind of the World and was at this point of history the worlds scientific and cultural center with philosophers, scientists, engineers and historians contributing enormously to technology, science and medicine, leading directly to the renaissance. The late Middle Ages however brought many critical events in the region. From 1220, Persia was invaded and destroyed by wave after wave of calamity starting with the Mongol invasion, followed later by Tamerlane. During the Mongol period more than half of the population were killed and didn't reach its pre-Mongol levels until the 20th century.

Persia's first encompassing Shi'a Islamic state was established under the Safavid dynasty in 1501. The decline of the Safavid state in the 17th century increasingly turned Persia into an arena for rising rival colonial powers such as Imperial Russia and the British Empire that wielded great political influence in Tehran under the Qajarid dynasty. Iran however, managed to maintain its sovereignty and was never colonized, making it unique in the region. With the rise of modernization in the late 19th century, desire for change led to the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911. In 1921, Reza Shah Pahlavi staged a coup against the weakened Qajar dynasty. A supporter of modernization, Reza Shah initiated the development of modern industry, railroads, and establishment of a national education system, but his autocratic rule and unbalanced social reforms created discontent among many Iranians.

During World War II, Britain and the USSR invaded Iran from August 25 to September 17, 1941, to stop an Axis-supported coup and secure Iran's oil resources supply. The Allies of World War II forced the shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom they hoped would be more supportive. In 1951, an eccentric pro-democratic nationalist, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh rose to prominence in Iran and was elected its first Prime Minister. As Prime Minister, Mossadegh alarmed the West by his nationalization of Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, which controlled all of the country's oil reserves. Britain immediately put an embargo on Iran. British Intelligence Service approached the United States under Harry S. Truman to join them in Operation Ajax, a coup against Mossadegh. Truman was categorically unwilling to join Britain but his successor, Dwight Eisenhower was persuaded to join them when the issue of the potential threat of the Communist Tudeh Party of Iran coming to power was brought up with allegations that Mossadegh himself might even be pro-Soviet (an assertion that was never found to be true). The Shah at first attempted to formally dismiss Mossadegh, but this backfired and Mossadegh convinced the Shah to flee to Baghdad.

Regardless of this setback, the covert operation soon went into full swing, conducted from US Embassy in Tehran under the leadership of Kermit Roosevelt, Jr.. Thugs were hired to facilitate violence. Protests broke out across the nation. Anti- and pro-monarchy protestors violently clashed in the streets, leaving almost 300 dead. The operation was successful in inciting pro-Shah sentiment in the country, and within days of its commencement, pro-Shah tanks stormed the capital and bombarded the Prime Minister's residence. Mossadegh surrendered, and was arrested on August 19, 1953. He was tried for treason, and sentenced to three years in prison. To many Iranians who supported the democratically elected Mossadegh and supported the nationalization of the oil industry, seeing the British/American involvement in the return of the Shah planted a seed of distrust that to this day affects the relationship between the countries. This psyche of suspicion would play a very important role in fate of US Embassy in Tehran during 1979 revolution, culminating in what is known today as Iran Hostage Crisis.

Mohammad Reza Shah was the second monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty, and the last Shah (King) of the Iranian monarchy.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was then reinstated as Shah. His rule became increasingly autocratic in the following years and soon Iran became a model police state. With strong support from the US and UK, the Shah further modernized Iranian industry, but simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition with his intelligence agency, SAVAK. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became a critic of the Shah's reign and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini, who was popular in Iran as a spirtual leader, was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964, Khomeini criticised the United States government. Upon considering execution of Khomeini, the Shah was persuaded to send him into exhile by General Hassan Pakravan. Khomeini was sent first to Turkey and then to Iraq. While in exhile, he continued to denounce the Shah and gained more popularity among Iranians.

Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh Founder of Iran's first and only democratic government

By the late 1970s, it became apparent that the Shah was losing his hold over the country. In 1978, when protests against his rule grew louder, he declared martial law. Despite this, on September 8, mass but peaceful protests around the country were held. This came to an abrupt end when the Shah sent in the military to suppress the demonstrations. As a result, several hundred protesters died in what many Iranians today call Black Friday, an event that destroyed any support for the Shah in the country.

1979 saw an increase in protests against both the Shah and the United States, culminating in the Iranian Revolution. The Shah fled the country again, after which Khomeini triumphantly returned from exile in France on February 1, 1979 and eventually succeeded in taking power. On February 11, Khomeini declared a provisional government and on March 30 to March 31, asked all Iranians sixteen years of age and older, male and female, to vote in a referendum on the question of establishing an Islamic republic in Iran. Over 98% voted in favour of replacing the monarchy with the newly-proposed form of government. Khomeini's new Islamic state instated conservative Islamic laws and unprecedented levels of direct clerical rule.

Relations with the US were severely strained in 1979, after Iranian students seized US embassy personnel labeling the embassy the "Den of Spies" and accused its personnel of being CIA agents trying to overthrow the revolutionary governoment. Khomeini did not stop the students from holding U.S. embassaries hostage and instead encouraged it, a move which only increased his popularity. Despite attempts made by the administration of US President Jimmy Carter at negotiation and rescuing the hostages through such methods as Operation Eagle Claw, Iran refused to release them and even threatened to put the hostages on trial for espionage. After 444 days, the hostages were finally released.

Meanwhile, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein decided to take advantage of what he perceived to be disorder in the wake of the Iranian revolution and its unpopularity with the western governoments. Of particular interest was that the once-strong Iranian military had been disbanded during the revolution. With the Shah out of power, Saddam had far-reaching ambitions to assert himself as the new strong man of the Middle East and planned a full-scale invasion of Iran, boasting that his forces could reach the capital within three days. So, on September 22, 1980, Saddam's army invaded southwest Iran taking the country completely by surprise. The destructive Iran-Iraq War called "Saddām's al-Qādisiyyah" in Iraq, and the "Imposed war" in Iran, lasted from 1980 to 1988. Tens of thousands of Iranian civilians and military personnel were killed when Iraq used chemical weapons in its warfare. Iraq was morally and financially backed by Egypt, the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, the United States (beginning in 1983), France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, the People's Republic of China (which also sold weapons to Iran), the Soviet Union, and the Warsaw Pact states. All of these countries provided intelligence, chemical weapons or biological weapons and other assistance to Saddam. Iran's prinicpal allies during the war were Syria, Libya, and North Korea. Although Iran itself also possessed chemical weapons, it never used them during the war.
Saddam's surprise attack made several early advances, the people of Iran began rallying around Khomeini as he urged all Iranians to defend their country and religion against Saddam's secular Baath Party Ba'athist regime. By 1982, Iranian forces managed to push the Iraqi army back into Iraq. Khomeini refused a cease-fire from Saddam demanding huge reparation payments and an end to his rule and that he be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He also sought to export his Islamic revolution westward into Iraq, especially on the majority Shi'a Arabs living in the country. During the war Saddam was supported by the United States all the way against Iran providing weapons and intelligence to Iraq. To stop Iranian volunteer human waves on battlefield, Iraq used biological and chemical weapons provided by West, extensively. As local dissent in Iraq against Saddam and his secular war against Iran grew, his rule became more and more dictatorial and later used chemical weapons on his own people as well, killing tens of thousands of protesting Kurds at Halabja. Despite all these atrocities special Reagan envoy Donald Rumsfeld visited Saddam twice in Baghadad delivering him weapons to be used against Iranians and assurances of continued US cooperation with Iraq. This relationship was later augmented as US Navy joined forces with Saddam in the war against Iran, sinking more than half of Iranian Navy and downing several Iranian Airforce Planes. Towards the end of the war US Navy shot down an Iranian Civilian Airliner Iran Air Flight 655 killing 290 passengers and crew including 38 non-Iranians and 66 children. The war continued for eight years until when in 1988, Khomeini, in his words, "drank the cup of poison" and accepted a truce mediated by the United Nations, under US pressure, (just when another successful Iranian assault was penetrating Iraq) without any reparations for Iran and punishment for Saddam. The total Iranian casualties of the war were estimated to be anywhere between 500,000 to 1,000,000. With the fall of Saddam's regime in Iraq in April 2003 and his capture in December, Iran announced it had sent its own indictment against Saddam to Iraq's government, with the list of complaints including the use of chemical weapons. The United Nation finally and officially accepted Iraq as the aggressor party in the war in 1997, nine years after the war ended.

The struggle between reformists and conservatives continues today through electoral politics, and was a central focus in the Iranian presidential election of 2005, which resulted in the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Since then, there has been an increase in tensions between Iran and the US. It is asserted by some that the US is pursuing an anti-Iran campaign in the world media in attempts to cast disfavor toward Iran, such as reporting concerns it has regarding Iran's nuclear program or support by Iran to insurgents in Iraq.

Iran has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and as such has the legal right to use and research nuclear energy for peaceful purposes . Members of the UN Security Council, in particular Russia and China, oppose any military action. Significantly, Iran was recently elected vice-chair on the UN Disarmament Commission. Recently, Iran announced it is researching the construction of a P2 centrifuge, which is a more efficient technology to enrich uranium for energy.Despite the U.S and Iran being at odds with each other, both governments promote exchanges between their people in numerous fields such as film, art, philosophy and astronomy.

Politics

Iran is a founding member of the United Nations organization and a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement.

The political system of the Islamic Republic is based on the 1979 Constitution called the "Qanun-e Asasi" ("Fundamental Law"). The system comprises several intricately connected governing bodies, most of which are appointed.

The Supreme Leader

The Supreme Leader of Iran is responsible for delineation and supervision of "the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran". The Supreme Leader is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, controls the military intelligence and security operations; and has sole power to declare war. The heads of the judiciary, state radio and television networks, the commanders of the police and military forces and six of the twelve members of the Council of Guardians are appointed by the Supreme Leader. The Assembly of Experts elects and dismisses the Supreme Leader on the basis of qualifications and popular esteem. The Assembly of Experts is responsible for supervising the Supreme Leader in the performance of legal duties.

Executive

The Constitution defines the President as the highest state authority after the Supreme Leader. The President is elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years. Presidential candidates must be approved by the Council of Guardians prior to running. The President is responsible for the implementation of the Constitution and for the exercise of executive powers, except for matters directly related to the Supreme Leader. The President appoints and supervises the Council of Ministers, coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the legislature. Eight Vice-Presidents serve under the President, as well as a cabinet of 21 ministers, who must all be approved by the legislature. Unlike many other states, the executive branch in Iran does not control the armed forces. Although the President appoints the Ministers of Intelligence and Defense, it is customary for the President to obtain explicit approval from the Supreme Leader for these two ministers before presenting them to the legislature for a vote of confidence.

The chamber of the The Majles: The Islamic Consultative Assembly.

Parliament (The Majles)

The legislature of Iran is the unicameral Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami (Islamic Consultative Assembly), comprising 290 members elected for four-year terms. The Majlis drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the national budget. All Majlis candidates and all legislation from the assembly must be approved by the Council of Guardians. Before the Islamic Revolution, Iran's legislature was bicameral with both the Majlis and a Senate; the Senate was eliminated in the 1979 constitution.

Judiciary

The Supreme Leader appoints the head of the Judiciary, who in turn appoints the head of the Supreme Court and the 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 categories of offenses, including crimes against national security. The decisions of the revolutionary courts are final and cannot be appealed. The Special Clerical Court handles crimes allegedly committed by clerics, although it has also taken on cases involving lay people. The Special Clerical Court functions independently of the regular judicial framework and is accountable only to the Supreme Leader. The Court's rulings are final and cannot be appealed.

Assembly of Experts

After the revolution, Shahyad Tower was renamed to Azadi Tower (Tower of Freedom).

The Assembly of Experts, which meets for one week annually, comprises 86 "virtuous and learned" clerics elected by adult suffrage for eight-year terms. As with the presidential and parliamentary elections, the Council of Guardians determines candidates' eligibility. The Assembly elects the Supreme Leader and has the constitutional authority to remove the Supreme Leader from power at any time. The Assembly has never been known to challenge any of the Supreme Leader's decisions.

Council of Guardians

The Council of Guardians comprises 12 jurists including six appointed by the Supreme Leader. The head of the judiciary, who is also appointed by the Supreme Leader, recommends the remaining six, who are officially appointed by Parliament. The Council interprets the constitution and may veto Parliament. If a law is deemed incompatible with the constitution or Sharia (Islamic law) , it is referred back to Parliament for revision. In a controversial exercise of its authority, the Council has drawn upon a narrow interpretation of Iran's constitution to veto parliamentary candidates.

Expediency Council

The Expediency Council has the authority to mediate disputes between Parliament and the Council of Guardians, and serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, making it one of the most powerful governing bodies in the country.

City and Village Councils

Local councils are elected by public vote to 4-year terms in all cities and villages of Iran. According to article 7 of Iran's Constitution, these local councils together with the Parliament are "decision-making and administrative organs of the State". This section of the constitution was not implemented until 1999 when the first local council elections were held across the country. Councils have many different responsibilities including electing mayors, supervising the activities of municipalities; studying the social, cultural, educational, health, economic, and welfare requirements of their constituencies; planning and co-ordinating national participation in the implementation of social, economic, constructive, cultural, educational and other welfare affairs.

Human Rights

The violation of human rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to be significant, despite many efforts by Iranian human right activists, writers, NGOs and some political parties. Human rights in Iran face the issues of governmental impunity, restricted freedom of speech, gender inequality and discrimination against minorities and "outsiders" amongst other issues. Despite severe national and some international criticism, the Islamic government of Iran still continues to disregard the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in several aspects.

Human rights in Iran can be said to derive from two elements; firstly, traditional Islam and the Sharia law allow for significant gender inequality, gay persecution, as well as other internationally criticised practices such as stoning as a method of execution. Secondly, the Iranian government itself, in its continual drive to secure its own political power base, as well as to maintain centralised control over a fragmented multi-ethnic society, disregards human rights. However, the situation of human rights under the Islamic regime is far better than in many Middle Eastern countries, where women lack the rights to vote or receive education and all media is state-run.

Administrative divisions

Iran is divided into 30 provinces (ostanha, sing. ostan), each governed by an appointed governor (استاندار: ostāndār). The map does not show the southern islands of Hormozgan (#20 on the map):#Tehran#Qom#Markazi#Qazvin#Gilan#Ardabil#Zanjan#East Azarbaijan#West Azarbaijan#Kurdistan#Hamedan#Kermanshah#Ilam#Lorestan#Khuzestan

16. Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari
17. Kohkiluyeh and Buyer Ahmad
18. Bushehr
19. Fars
20. Hormozgan
21. Sistan and Baluchistan
22. Kerman
23. Yazd
24. Esfahan
25. Semnan
26. Mazandaran
27. Golestan
28. North Khorasan
29. Razavi Khorasan
30. South Khorasan|

Numbered map of provinces