Iran
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Iran was originally known as Persia unitl 1935. It then bacame and Islamic republic in 1979, after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza PAHLAVI was forces into excile.
The US-Iranian relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and held embassy personnel hostages until January 20, 1981.
During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf, and led to clashes between U.S. Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987 and 1988.
GEOGRAPHY
- Slightly smaller than Alaska
- Located in the Middle East
- Borders the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea
- Is between Iraq and Pakistan
- Mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
CULTURE
- Ethnic groups include
> Persian, 61%
> Azeri, 16%
> Kurd, 10%
> Lur, 6%
> Arab, 2%
> Baloch, 2%
> Turkmen and Turkic tribes, 2%
- Languages
> Persian (official)
> Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects
> Kurdish
> Gilaki and Mazandarani
> Luri
> Balochi
> Arabic
- Popuation: 78,868,711
The US-Iranian relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and held embassy personnel hostages until January 20, 1981.
During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf, and led to clashes between U.S. Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987 and 1988.
GEOGRAPHY
- Slightly smaller than Alaska
- Located in the Middle East
- Borders the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea
- Is between Iraq and Pakistan
- Mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
CULTURE
- Ethnic groups include
> Persian, 61%
> Azeri, 16%
> Kurd, 10%
> Lur, 6%
> Arab, 2%
> Baloch, 2%
> Turkmen and Turkic tribes, 2%
- Languages
> Persian (official)
> Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects
> Kurdish
> Gilaki and Mazandarani
> Luri
> Balochi
> Arabic
- Popuation: 78,868,711