Islamic Republic of Iran

Population 68,017,900

Capital City Tehran (8.2 mil) metro (11.7 mil)

Currency Iranian Rial (IRR)

Languages Persian (58%), Turkic (26%), others

Religions Shi'a Muslim (89%), Sunni Muslim (9%)

Iran Timeline

559 - 332BC The Achaemenian Dynasty & the Great Persian Empire. The Persian Empire became the dominant world power for over two centuries
550BC Cyrus the Great established the First World Empire
525BC Persians conquer Egypt
332 BC Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and Persia
323-141 BC - The Seleucid Dynasty was established by one of Alexander's generals
247 BC-224 AD - The Parthians conquered the Seleucids
224 - 642 The Sasanian Dynasty
570 - The Prophet Mohammad was born
632 - The Prophet Mohammad died and his teachings were compiled into the Koran, the holy book of Islam
642 - 1220 The Arab Caliphate
1220 - Mongol Era when Persia conquered by Gangis Khan
1271 - Marco Polo journeyed through Persia en route to China
1295 - Ghazan Khan became the first Mongol leader to convert to Islam
1501-1524 - Safavid Dynasty started by Shah Ismail I who united all of Persia under Iranian leadership
1795 - Qajar Dynasty
1851-1906 - The Qajars lost central Asian provinces to the Russians and were forced to give up all claims on Afghanistan to Great Britain
1925-1940 - Pahlavi Dynasty
1979 - The Shah was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution ending 2,500 years of monarchy
July 29, 1980 - The Islamic Revolution

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Iran is one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations. The history of Iran covers thousands of years.

There are records of numerous ancient and technologically advanced civilizations on the Iranian plateau before the arrival of Aryan tribes from the north, many of whom are still unknown to historians today. Archeological findings place knowledge of Persian prehistory at middle paleolithic times (100,000 years ago). The earliest sedentary cultures date from 18,000-14,000 years ago. In 6000 BCE the world saw a fairly sophisticated agricultural society and proto-urban population centers. The south-western part of Iran was part of the Fertile Crescent where most of humanity's first major crops were grown. 7000 year old jars of wine excavated in the Zagros Mountains and ruins of 7000 year old settlements such as Sialk are further testament to this.

Many dynasties have ruled Persia throughout the ages. Scholars and archeologists are only beginning to discover the scope of the independent, non-Semitic Elamite Empire and Jiroft civilizations 5000 years ago.

At the end of second millennium, the Aryan nomads from central Asia settled in Persia. These are some of the civilizations in Iran before the Aryans: Neolithic civilizations, Teppe Sialk, Shahr-e Sukhteh, Marlik civilization, Luristan civilization, Mannaeans civilization, Kingdom of Jiroft, Elamite kingdom.

The ancient nation of Iran was historically known to the West as Persia until March 21, 1935. The name was used in the West due to the ancient Greek name for Iran, Persis. Persia is used to describe the nation of Iran, its people, or its ancient empire. The Persians have called their country Iran / Iranshahr since the Sassanian period.

The name Persia comes from a region in the south of Iran, called Fars or Pars in the Persian language. Persis is the Hellenized form of Pars, based on which other European nations termed it Persia. Eratosthenes however does make mention of the word "Iran" in his writings. This region was the core of the original Persian Empire. Westerners referred to the state as Persia until March 21, 1935, when Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asked the international community to call the country by its native name, Iran, which means Land of the Aryans but because of some Persian scholars' protests the government announced in 1959 that both Persia and Iran could be used.

Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah was forced into exile.

Mohammad Reza Shah

There was much opposition against the Mohammad Reza Shah, and how he used the secret police, the Savak, to control the country. Strong Shi'i opposition against the Shah, and the country came close to a situation of civil war. The opposition was lead by Ayatollah Khomeini, who lived in exile in Iraq and later in France. His message was distributed through music cassettes, which were smuggled into Iran in small numbers, and then duplicated, and spread all around the country. This was the beginning of Iranian revolution. On January 16 1979, the Shah left Iran. Shapour Bakhtiar became the new prime minister with the help of Supreme Army Councils but he couldn't control the situation in the country anymore.

Iranian Rally for Ayatollah Khomeini

Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran on February 1. Ten days later Bakhtiar went into hiding, eventually to find exile in Paris.

Ayatollah Khomeini

founder of Islamic Republic

Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority nominally vested in a learned religious scholar.

Iranian Students scaling the wall at the U.S. Embassy

Iranian-US relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter immediately applied economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran: oil imports from Iran were ended on November 12, 1979, a number of Iranians in the U.S. were expelled (some of whom were unrelated to the crisis or the new Iranian government), and around USD 8 billion of Iranian assets in the U.S. were frozen on November 14, 1979.

The Students held hostage 66 diplomats and citizens of the United States inside the U.S. embassy in Tehran. During the crisis, some hostages were released, but 52 were held until the end.

After the presidential elections in 1980 negotiations between the U.S. and Iran resulted in the "Algiers Accords" of January 19, 1981, committing Iran to free the hostages immediately. Essential to the Algiers Accords and reportedly a non-negotiable requirement of Iran that the Carter Administration reluctantly conceded was Point I: Non-Intervention in Iranian Affairs. It reads "The United States pledges that it is and from now on will be the policy of the United States not to intervene, directly or indirectly, politically or militarily, in Iran's internal affairs." Other provisions of the Algiers Accords were the unfreezing of 8 billion dollars worth of Iranian assets and immunity from lawsuits Iran might have faced.

U.S. Hostages

On January 20, 1981, twenty minutes after President Reagan's inaugural address, the hostages were formally released into U.S. custody, having spent 444 days in captivity. The hostages were flown to Algeria as a symbolic gesture for the help of that government in resolving the crisis, where former President Carter, acting as an emissary for the Reagan administration, received them.

During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987-1988.

Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement. Following the elections of a reformist president and Majlis in the late 1990s, attempts to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction floundered as conservative politicians prevented reform measures from being enacted, increased repressive measures, and made electoral gains against reformers. Parliamentary elections in 2004 and the August 2005 inauguration of a conservative stalwart as president, completed the reconsolidation of conservative power in Iran's government.

Credit : CIA Factbook ,Wikipedia

H.E. Dr. Ahmadi Nejad, President of Islamic Republic of Iran

Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad was born in 1956 in the village of Aradan in the city of Garmsar. He moved and stayed in Tehran together with his family while he was still one-year old and completed his primary as well as his low and high secondary education there. In 1975, he successfully passed the university entrance exam with high marks and started his academic studies on the subject of civil engineering in the Science and Technology University in Tehran.
In 1986, he continued his studies at MS level in the same university. In 1989, he became a member of the Board of Civil Engineering Faculty of the Science and Technology University. In 1997, he managed to obtain his Ph.D. on transportation engineering and planning from the Science and Technology University.
Dr. Ahmadi Nejad is familiar with English language. During the years when he was teaching in the university, he wrote many scientific papers and engaged in scientific research in various fields. During the same period, he also supervised the theses of tens of students at MS and Ph.D. levels on different subjects of civil engineering, road and transportation as well as construction management.
While still a student, Dr. Ahmadi Nejad engaged in political activities by attending religious and political meetings before the Islamic Revolution. With the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he became a founder and also a member of the Islamic Association of Students in the Science and Technology University. During the war imposed on Iran, Dr. Ahmadi Nejad was actively present as a member of the volunteer forces (Basij) in different parts and divisions of the battlefronts particularly in the war engineering division until the end of the war.
Dr. Ahmadi Nejad is married and has three children- two sons and one daughter.

Career Background:
- Governor of Maku
- Governor of Khoy
- Advisor to the Governor General of Kordistan Province
- Advisor for cultural affairs to the Minister of Culture and Higher Education (1993)
- Governor General of Ardabil Province (1993-1997)
- Member of the Board of Civil Engineering Faculty of the Science and Technology University (since 1989 till present date)
- Tehran Mayor (2003-2005)
- He was elected by the Iranian people as the President during the 9th presidential election on June 24, 2005.
In addition to his academic and scientific pursuits as well as his executive positions, Dr. Ahmadi Nejad has engaged in the following careers and activities as well:
- Journalism; writing various political, social, cultural and economic articles,
- In the same career, he also held the position of managing director of Hamshahri newspaper and launched various affiliated periodicals including Neighborhood Hamshahri published and distributed in 22 areas of the city of Tehran, Hamshahri for Passengers, Diplomatic Hamshahri, Youth Hamshahri, Monthly Hamshahri and also extra pages attached to the Hamshahri newspaper for thinkers, students, etc.
- Founding and working as a member of Iran Tunnel Society,
- Working as a member of Iran Civil Engineering Society,
- Working as a member of the first central council of the Islamic Association of Students in the Science and Technology University,
- Working as a member of the first central council of the Union of Islamic Associations of University and Higher Education Institutes in Iran.

Credit:CIA Fact Book President of Iran Website