Iran (Persia) is a country which lies in southwest Asia, in the Middle East region. It is bounded on the north by Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, and Armenia; on the south, it is bounded by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; on the east, by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the west, it is bordered by Iraq and Turkey. With an area of 1,647,050 km2 (635,932 square miles), Iran is the second largest country in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia. It has a coastline of 2,650 km, which includes the Strait of Hormuz and the Caspian Sea coasts. It has a population of 91 million people.
The capital of Iran is Tehran, which lies in the north of the country, sprawling out at the foot of the Elburz Mountain Range. This city has a population of approximately 14.5 million people. The main ethnic group is constituted by the Persians, who make up 75% of the population, whose faith is Shiite Islam. Other ethnic groups include the Kurdish, Azerbaijani, and Arabs. Politically and juridically, Iran is organized as a Unitary Islamic Republic, with a President that represents the executive branch of power, and a parliament, formed by people representatives, constituting the legislative branch. The Islamic Republic succeeded the monarchic parliamentary system in 1979, after the Islamic Revolution that expelled the foreign firms and nests of foreign intelligence services that looted the country of its natural resources and politically controlled its government. For administrative reason, this Middle East nation is divided into provinces.
Geographic relief and features
More than one-half of Iran’s territory is mountainous. The country’s relief is characterized by alternation of mountains of medium height with wide intermontane depressions separating them. Along the country's periphery, the northern Iranian, eastern Iranian, and southwestern Iranian mountain ranges are located. The Elburz Mountain Range (with the volcano Mount Demavend, 5,604 m high and the highest point in Iran) and the Turkmeno-Khorasan Range form the northern Iranian mountain system. The eastern Iranian mountains (the volcano Mount Taftan, 4,042 m) form several link-shaped, mainly medium-height chains. On the other hand, the Zagros Mountain Range (Zard Kuh, 4,548 m) and the Makran mountains constitute the southwestern mountain system. Parallel to the Zagros in the interior stretches the Central Iranian Range, formed by various individual ranges, including the Kuhrud (up to 4,420 m). Between the peripheral ranges, at a height of 1,000–2,000 m, lie internal plateaus with insular massifs and closed depressions.
Iran has no major rivers of economic importance. Thus, there are only small rivers and streams that rise in the mountain peaks. The only one that is navigable is the 830 kilometer (520 mi)-long Karun, which shallow-draft boats can negotiate from Khorramshahr to Ahvaz, a distance of about 180 kilometers (110 mi). Other secondary rivers include the Karkheh, spanning 700 kilometres (430 mi) and joining the Tigris; and the Zayandeh River, which is 300 kilometers (190 mi) long. Several other permanent rivers and streams also drain into the Persian Gulf, while a number of small rivers that originate in the northwestern Zagros or Alborz drain into the Caspian Sea.
Climate
Most of Iran has a subtropical and continental climate with hot summers; winters are cold in the north and mild in the south. The climate on the Persian and Oman gulf coasts is subtropical and hot. The mean temperature in January at Tehran is 2.0°C; in Jask (on the Gulf of Oman), 19.4°C; the corresponding figures for July are 29.4°C and 32.5°C. The annual precipitation usually does not exceed 500 mm, increasing (to 2,000 mm) only on the slopes of the Elburz Mountains and in the southern Caspian Lowland, where dry mild weather conditions give way to semi-humid subtropics. Most precipitation occurs during the colder six months of the year. Iran’s driest regions are in the east along the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iran's annual precipitation is only 50–60 mm in the Sistan depression. Agriculture in the interior regions of Iran is possible only with irrigation.
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| Map of Iran showing its neighboring countries and its capital city. |