[i-ran, i-rahn, ahy-ran] 
| a republic in SW Asia. 67,540,002; ab. 635,000 sq. mi. (1,644,650 sq. km). Capital: Teheran. |
I·ran (ĭ-rān', ĭ-rän', ī-rān')  (click for larger image in new window) A country of southwest Asia. Inhabited since c. 2000 B.C. by Iranian peoples, the region later became the core of the Persian Empire. After being conquered by Alexander the Great and ruled by the Parthian Arsacid dynasty, Persia was reestablished under the Sassanian dynasty (A.D. 224-651) and, after invasions by Arabs (7th century), Turks (10th century), and Mongols (13th-14th centuries), was reestablished again under the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736). The country, officially renamed Iran in 1935, was ruled by the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 until the ouster of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi (1979) in a revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, who established an Islamic republic. Tehran is the capital and the largest city. Population: 65,400,000. |
Republic in the Middle East, bordered by Armenia, the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan to the north; Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east; the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south; and Iraq and Turkey to the west. Its capital and largest city is Teheran.
Note: Core of the ancient Persian Empire, Iran was known as Persia until 1935.
Note: The United States supported the regime of the shah (king) Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was forced by popular opposition to leave the country in 1979.
Note: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ruled from 1979 until his death in 1989, imposing strict Islamic law.
Note: In 1979, Iranian militants attacked the U.S. embassy and seized hostages, including sixty-two Americans, who were held until 1981.
Note: Iraq unsuccessfully invaded Iran in 1980.
Note: The Iranian government was widely believed to have controlled the taking of U. S. hostages in Lebanon. (See Iran-Contra affair.)
Note: The 1990s saw some moderating elements emerge to challenge the conservative heirs to Khomeini.
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