Iran

broadcast stations: AM 77, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA

2,143,000 telephones; 35 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay extends throughout country; system centered in Tehran international: 3 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber optic cable to UAE

broadcast stations: 28 televisions: NA

Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Revolutionary Guards (includes Basij militia with its ground, air, and naval forces), Law Enforcement Forces

according to official Iranian data, Iran spent 1,785 billion rials, including $808 million in hard currency, in 1992 and budgeted 2,507 billion rials, including $850 million in hard currency, for 1993 note: conversion of rial expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results IRAQ

males age 15-49 14,639,290; males fit for military service 8,703,732; males reach military age (21) annually 615,096 (1995 est.)

accounts for about 20% of GDP; principal products - wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar; not self-sufficient in food

revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

10 Iranian rials (IR) = 1 toman; note - domestic figures are generally referred to in terms of the toman

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.675 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $976 million note: aid fell sharply following the 1979 revolution

capacity: 19,080,000 kW production: 50.8 billion kWh consumption per capita: 745 kWh (1993)

Iranian rials (IR) per US$1 - 1,749.04 (January 1995), 1,748.75 (1994), 1,267.77 (1993), 65.552 (1992), 67.505 (1991); black market rate: 3,000 rials per US$1 (December 1994)

$16 billion (f.o.b., FY92/93 est.) commodities: petroleum 90%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides partners: Japan, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium/Luxembourg, Spain, and Germany

$30 billion (December 1993)

21 March - 20 March

illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic and international drug trade; produced 35-70 metric tons in 1993; net opiate importer but also a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe

$18 billion (c.i.f., FY92/93 est.) commodities: machinery, military supplies, metal works, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, technical services, refined oil products partners: Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, UAE

growth rate 4.6% (1993 est.); accounts for almost 30% of GDP, including petroleum

petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments and military equipment

35% (1994)

GDP - purchasing power parity - $310 billion (1994 est.)

$4,720 (1994 est.)

-2% (1994 est.)

Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. Over the past several years, the government has introduced several measures to liberalize the economy and reduce government intervention, but most of these changes have moved slowly because of political opposition. Iran has faced increasingly severe financial difficulties since mid-1992 due to an import surge that began in 1989 and general financial mismanagement. At yearend 1993 the Iranian Government estimated that it owed foreign creditors about $30 billion; an estimated $8 billion of this debt was in arrears. At yearend 1994, Iran rescheduled $12 billion in debt. Earnings from oil exports - which provide 90% of Iran's export revenues - are providing less relief to Iran than usual because of reduced oil prices.

over 30% (1994 est.)

total area: 1.648 million sq km land area: 1.636 million sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska

mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

2,440 km note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)

current issues: air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; inadequate supplies of potable water natural hazards: periodic droughts, floods; duststorms, sandstorms; earthquakes along the Western border international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; Iran occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE: Tunb as Sughra (Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek (Persian) or Lesser Tunb, and Tunb al Kubra (Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg (Persian) or Greater Tunb; it jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE, Abu Musa (Arabic) or Jazireh-ye Abu Musa (Persian); in 1992 the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb islands became more acute when Iran unilaterally tried to control the entry of third country nationals into the UAE portion of Abu Musa island, Tehran subsequently backed off in the face of significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region, but in 1994 it increased its military presence on the disputed islands; periodic disputes with Afghanistan over Helmand water rights; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined

57,500 sq km (1989 est.)

total 5,440 km, Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijan (north) 432 km, Azerbaijan (northwest) 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km

arable land: 8% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 27% forest and woodland: 11% other: 54%

Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Pakistan

Middle East

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in the Persian Gulf territorial sea: 12 nm

petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur

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

24 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Azarbayjan-e Bakhtari (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan-e Khavari (East Azerbaijan), Bakhtaran, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmadi, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan note: there may be a new province named Ardabil formed from a part of Azarbayjan-e Khavari (East Azerbaijan) which may have been renamed Azarbayjan-e Markazi (Central Azerbaijan); the name Bakhtaran may have been changed to Kermanshahan

Tehran

2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership

IR

chief of mission: Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC chancery: Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990

supreme leader (rahbar) and functional chief of state: Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989) head of government: President Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI (since 3 August 1989); election last held June 1993 (next to be held June 1997); results - Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI was elected with 63% of the vote cabinet: Council of Ministers; selected by the president with legislative approval

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red is centered in the white band; Allah Alkbar (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band

1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)

elections last held 8 April 1992 (next to be held April 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (270 seats total) number of seats by party NA

Supreme Court

the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government

unicameral

CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran conventional short form: Iran local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran local short form: Iran

Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Kurdish Democratic Party; the Society for the Defense of Freedom

there are at least 76 licensed parties; the three most important are - Tehran Militant Clergy Association, Mohammad Reza MAHDAVI-KANI; Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; Fedaiyin Islam Organization, Sadeq KHALKHALI

15 years of age; universal

theocratic republic

protecting power in Iran is Switzerland

0-14 years: 45% (female 14,113,933; male 14,995,015) 15-64 years: 51% (female 16,237,810; male 16,803,943) 65 years and over: 4% (female 1,197,869; male 1,276,885) (July 1995 est.)

34.85 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

6.85 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Persian 51%, Azerbaijani 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%

54.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

15.4 million by occupation: agriculture 33%, manufacturing 21% note: shortage of skilled labor (1988 est.)

Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Baloch 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%

total population: 66.97 years male: 65.77 years female: 68.22 years (1995 est.)

age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 66% male: 74% female: 56%

noun: Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian

-5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

64,625,455 (July 1995 est.)

2.29% (1995 est.)

Shi'a Muslim 95%, Sunni Muslim 4%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1%

4.93 children born/woman (1995 est.)

total: 261 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 28 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 32 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 20 with paved runways under 914 m: 46 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 18 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 101

total: 140,200 km paved: 42,694 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 46,866 km; improved earth 49,440 km; unimproved earth 1,200 km

904 km; the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 meters and is in use

total: 132 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,816,820 GRT/6,991,693 DWT ships by type: bulk 48, cargo 38, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 2, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 8, short-sea passenger 1

crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km

Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz, Bandar Beheshti, Bandar-e 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bandar-e Bushehr, Bandar-e Khomeyni, Bandar-e Mah Shahr, Bandar-e Torkeman, Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr (limited operation since November 1992), Now Shahr

total: 4,850 km; note - 480 km under construction from Bafq to Bandar-e 'Abbas; segment from Bafq to Sirjan has been completed and is operational; section from Sirjan to Bandar-e 'Abbas still under construction broad gauge: 90 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 4,760 km 1.432-m gauge