2. FACTS about IRAN Capital: Tehran Population: 70,472,846 Major Religion: Islam Currency: Rial Major Languages: Persian and Persian dialects, Turkic and Turkic dialects, Farsi

3. Geography of Iran Iran formerly known as Persia is located at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Arab states of the Middle East Zagros Mountains run north and south on the west of Iran Great Salt Desert located north and extending out to the east Caspian Sea is located to the north and is the worlds largest inland body of water. Its waters are salty. Persian Gulf is located to the south and is about 600 miles long

4. Geography Questions 1. Do you think the Zagros Mountains act as a transportation barrier or corridor? 2. Where do you think the majority of the people live in Iran? 3. What natural resources do you think Iran has in its different geographical regions?

5. History of Iran Iran is one of the oldest nations in the world, with a history dating back tens of thousands of years The country’s first great city, Susa was built on the central plateau around 3200 B.C. In 559 B.C., the Persian Empire arose in southwestern Iran and conquered the Mesopotamians and Egyptians. But it was later conquered by the Greeks in 330 B.C.

6. History of Iran Around 260 B.C. nomads called Parni conquered the Greeks and ruled some 500 years The Sassanids came into power in A.D. 224 and in A.D. 642, Persia became part of the Islamic Empire In 1501, the kings, or shahs, of the Safavid Empire began their reign

7. History of Iran In the late 18 th century, Russia and Britain took control of parts of Persia In 1921 a Persian army officer named Reza Khan took control and sought to end outside influence In 1935 Khan renamed the country of Persia to Iran; and his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi became Shah in 1941

8. History of Iran In 1979 many Iranians fought to end the reign of the shahs of Iran by forcing Pahlavi out of power After the end of the shahs, religious leaders ruled the country with the first leader being Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Khomeini ruled for ten years bringing with Iraq and tensions with the United States and many other nations Khomeini died in 1989, but tensions still exist today

9. Government of Iran Iran’s government is controlled by a religious figure (Theocracy) called the supreme leader, who is appointed by a group of Islamic clerics called the Assembly of Experts A president, elected by the people, is second in command Iran’s current president is Hassan Rouhani Iran’s current supreme leader is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

10. Current President of Iran Hassan Rouhani

11. Current Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei

12. Economy of Iran Iran is the largest economy in the Middle East Iran practices components of Socialism which means the government controls some major industries in the country Iran has extensive oil reserves, but its economy has been hit hard by a trade ban imposed by the United States since the shah ended in 1979

13. Economy of Iran Iran’s GDP is 997.4 billion (purchasing power) in 2012; 483.8 billion (official exchange) in 2012 Iran’s GDP per capita is 13,100 in 2012 Allegations that Iran supports terrorism and a belief that it is developing nuclear weapons has led to further isolation in recent years Main Industries: petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, car manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, home appliances, electronics, telecom, energy, power, textiles, construction, cement and other construction materials, food processing

14. What is Iran’s level of development?

15. Culture and People of Iran Strong religious beliefs have been part of the Iranians lives for thousands of years Almost all Iranians are Muslim, or followers of Islam Iran has created a rich culture of art, literature, poetry, music, cuisine, and architecture Algebra was invented by an Iranian Mathematician