The Land

 Iran, or Persia, as it was known until 1935, is located in South West Asia. The 1,648,000 sq km large country is bounded by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, Iraq and Turkey.

Iran's vast terrain consists of barren desert in the east and center, and mountainous regions in the north and west. Iran, with two of the world's most arid deserts, Dasht-e-Kavir and Dasht-e-Lut, is one of the most arid regions of the world, and suffers frequent droughts, floods and landslides. In addition, due to its position in the Alpine-Himalayan mountain system, Iran is also subject to numerous and often severe earthquakes.

The People

With a total population of more than 70 million, Iran is the most populous country in the region. Persians make up over half of the population, while the Azerbaijani account for at least 25%. Other ethnic minorities include Kurds, Lors, Bakhtiaris, Baluchis, Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians and Jews. In addition to the local population, Iran has over the past two decades, hosted one of the largest refugee populations in the world. The estimated number of these refugees, mostly from war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq, has varied between two and four million.

Islam entered the country in the 7th century A.D. and is now the official religion; about 90% of Iranians are Muslims of the Shiite sect. The remainder, mostly Kurds and Arabs, are Sunnis. Colonies of Zoroastrians at Yazd, Kerman, and other large towns. In addition to Armenian and Assyrian Christian sects, there are Jews, Protestants, and Roman Catholics. The principal language of the country is Persian (Farsi). Other languages spoken include, Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian, and Arabic.

Economy

About 10% of the land in Iran is arable; agriculture contributes just over 20% to the gross national product and employs a third of the labor force. The main food-producing areas are in the Caspian region and in the valleys of the northwest. Wheat, the most important crop, is grown mainly in the west and northwest; rice is the major crop in the Caspian region. Barley, corn, cotton, sugar beets, tea, hemp, tobacco, fruits (including citrus), nuts, and dates are also grown, and livestock is raised. Forestry products are equally important The northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains are heavily wooded, and the cutting of trees is rigidly controlled by the government, which also has a reforestation program.

Of the variety of natural resources found in Iran, petroleum and natural gas are by far the most important. Iran is the second largest OPEC oil producer and has the world's largest reserves of gas. Besides crude and refined petroleum, Iran's chief exports are textiles, fruits, nuts, hides, and iron and steel. Its chief imports are machinery, metals, military supplies, food, and chemicals. Traditional handicrafts such as carpet weaving and the manufacture of ceramics, silk, and jewelry are also important to the economy.

History, Politics and Administration

The history of population settlement in Iran goes back to the earliest periods of world civilization, although the period before the arrival of the Aryans has few records. It was after the Assyrian collapse in the 7th century B.C. that a Persian Empire first emerged. In 550 B.C. Cyrus brought the Medes and the Persians together to make Iran, for the first time, the dominant power in Asia and the Near East.

In the next thousand years, Iran remained one the richest and most powerful countries of the ancient world. This held true despite the fact that a succession of empires followed one another throughout this time - Acheminians, followed by Greeks-Seleucids, then Pathians and Sassaninas. This period of ancient civilization, which gave the country its language, came to an end with the Arab conquest in the middle of the seventh century A.D. The new period of Islamic civilization has characterized Iran's history for the last thirteen centuries.

This long Islamic period, however, has also been turbulent. Under the Abbasid Dynasty, with Baghdad as the center of empire, Seljuks of Turkish origin ruled Iran in the name of the Abbasid Caliphs until the 13th century A.D. When the Mongols arrived, Persian culture, literature and poetry flourished and spread their influence as far as India, even while the Ilkhans and Tamerlane ravaged the economy. The people suffered through almost three centuries of civil disturbances until the Turkoman dynasty of the Safavids unified the Persian empire once again in 1502.

The court of Shah Abbas (1587 - 1629) in Isfahan competed for splendour with the courts of the other two great Islamic empires of the time: The Ottoman court of Suleiman in Istanbul and the Moghul court of Akbar in Delhi. Safavid dynasty ended with the Afghan invasion. Zand dynasty ruled briefly and chaotically. After invasion, Nader Shah ended the period of Safavid rule but extended Iran's power to Northern India. His rule was brief and ended when he was murdered by his soldier. Finally, the last 150 years of absolute rule started in 1779 under another dynasty of Turkish origin, the Qajjars. This was ended by a reform movement known as the constitutional revolution in 1906. But constitutional rule lasted only a short time and power was seized in 1925 by an army officer, Reza Khan. Although the next 54 years of rule by himself and his son, Mohammad Reza, theoretically continued the period of constitutional monarchy, effective power remained highly concentrated in the hands of the Shah, with two brief interregnums (during the second World War, when the Allied powers deposed Reza Khan in 1941 and installed his son, and from 1951-53 during the premiership of the nationalist Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh). A revolutionary movement under the leadership of the Muslim Ulema (scholar), guided by Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the monarchy at the beginning of 1979, and an Islamic Republic with a new constitution was proclaimed in April 1979.

The beginnings of a modern administration in Iran emerged only in the 1930s. Before that time, and throughout the succession of supposedly unified but short-lived empires, the centers of power continuously conformed to the changing whims of each ruler. The topography of mountains and vast empty spaces helped the multitude of ethnic communities and regions to develop themselves in their own fashion relatively isolated one from the other. A full quarter of the population were nomadic tribesmen obeying the dictates of their herds' feeding requirements. In 1900, the only modern feature was an efficient telegraph and postal system, but hardly any infrastructure of transport, power or communication existed in order to allow a centralized administration. One solitary secondary school functioned in Tehran. The State's role, in carrying out its security and defense functions, did not extend beyond that of collecting taxes and customs duties, and managing an army and police force. It was only after 1930 that a new administrative structure was established, with the express purpose of promoting development through fiscal and monetary control, expenditure on public infrastructure, modern education and health, the establishment of industries and the encouragement of trade. The period coincided with the first large-scale development of Iran's huge reserves, which provided the resources for investment.

The present administrative structure of Iran is characterized by its strongly centralized system of control. There are 30 ostans or administrative provinces, further divided into 195 governorships, 5001 divisions, 496 cities and 1581 village-districts.

A referendum was held in 1980, a year after the Islamic Revolution, in order to endorse the new Constitution which was amended, in 1989 to provide for better administrative coordination. The constitution's basic feature is to ensure that the country follows an Islamic path under the direction of Velayat-e Faghih (literally, Supreme Jurisprudence) which consists of either a single leader, whose qualities are universally recognized by the people (as in the case of late leader, Imam Khomeini), or of 3 or 5 persons to be selected by an elected Council of Islamic Experts. The duties of the Velayat-e Faghih include selection of the six religious jurists (the other six are constitutional experts appointed by the Majlis - Parliament) of the Guardian Council, which has the task of vetting the laws passed by the elected Majlis for their Islamic content and their constitutional validity. The Velayat-e Faghih is responsible for the appointment of the Head of the Judiciary. The head of the Armed Forces as Supreme Commander, the members of the Expediency Council, the Supreme Council or National Security, the High Council of Defense, and also endorses the appointment of the President, elected by popular vote. Velayat-e Faghih delineates the general policies of the country after consultation with the Expediency Council. He supervises the execution of the policies of the system with a view to ensuring their proper administration. Most importantly, the Velayat-e Faghih is the final arbiter for all disputes in legislation and has the power to control and revoke all State appointments, including that of the President of the country.

The Majlis has a membership of 270, each elected for a period of 4 years. The Government consists of the President, and approximately 23 Ministers forming the Cabinet. The basic role of the President is to lead the Executive branch of Government. He also nominates the Ministers for endorsement by the Majlis. All laws passed by the Majlis have to be vetted by the Guardian Council. In cases where the Majlis and the Guardian Council cannot reach an agreement the issue will be referred to the Expediency Council for final decision.

After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 a number of revolutionary and ad-hoc organization emerged. These included the Basij volunteers, Revolutionary Courts, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the Mostazafeen and Janbasan Foundation (oppressed people and war amputees), the Shaheed (Martyr) Foundation and Housing Foundation. They played a special role in mobilizing popular forces. Another post-revolutionary institution of considerable importance is the Council of Imam Jome'h (Friday prayer Leaders of various cities) who are usually representatives of the Velayat-e Faghih in the regions. The mosques and local Committees ( the latter have been brought under the Ministry of the Interior) had an important function in local administration and to some extent in the distribution of essential goods. The tendency in the past few years has been to integrate them into mainstream administrative organizations.

At the provincial level, administration calls for close cooperation between the Governor, his district officials, the Imam Jome'h, the local clergy, and the provincial representatives of the Government ministries in various technical areas.