Iran in Brief Review

Iran, a terrorism supporting country, became an Islamic Republic state in 1979. Its relations with the United States have been strained since the inception of the country. Located in the Middle East and bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Caspian Sea, the approximate population of Iran is 65,875,224. Of this population 51% of people are Persian, 24% are Azeri, 8% are Gilaki and Mazandarani, 7% are Kurd, 3% are Arab, and the last 7% are Lur, Baloch, Turkmen, and other ethnicities. The primary language spoken by 58% of the population is Persian or a dialect of Persian.

Iran is under a Theocratic rule with Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI as the chief of state and Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD as the head of government. The supreme leader is appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts and the president is elected by popular vote for a four year term. The people are not organized by political parties (except when temporarily developed for an election year) as they assemble in political pressure groups which advance the interest of the people.

The majority of country revenues (GDP is $859.7 billion) and economic activity, most of which is controlled by the state, are provided by Iran’s dependency on oil. Agriculture accounts for 10.8% of the GDP and farmers typically grow such crops as wheat, rice, sugar cane, cotton, wool, caviar and dairy products. Price controls, subsidies, corruption, and shortages are some of the most common economic problems. With an unemployment rate of 12.5% many skilled young Iranians look for jobs overseas which devastates Iran’s ability to keep its future talent.

Iran is still developing in many aspects of its infrastructure. Currently there are 129 airports with paved runways, 8,368 kilometers of railways, and 125,908 miles of paved roadways. Iran still has yet to provide telephone service to several thousand villages around the country. Today, approximately 30 million people subscribe to telephone use and 23 million are internet users.

Iran bases its foreign policy on two principles: eliminating any outside influence upon the country and pursuing stronger diplomatic relationships with developing and non-aligned countries. The United States and Israel are the only two countries which Iran does maintain diplomatic relations. In the past two centuries Iran has not invaded any other country however they have the ability to mobilize approximately 1 million men.

The culture of Iran, a predominant culture of the Middle East, is a mix of pre-Islamic and Islamic culture. Like the culture the cuisine of Iran is of a diverse nature creating combinations of rice with meat, vegetables, nuts, herbs, and fruits. The Sassanid era was a period in Iranian culture which influenced China, India, Roman civilization, and Western Europe a considerable amount. Islamic learning in philosophy, medicine, architecture, literature, and sciences were all strongly influenced by the Sassanid era as well. As two thirds of the current population is under the age of 25, sports are an essential part of Iranian culture. Soccer is very popular in Iran and the country had success in some appearance of the World Cup finals. Architecture is well defined by the early uses of mathematics in constructing various buildings. Domes are a unique aspect of Iran’s architectural interests as they can commonly be found in mosques and bazaars. Although clearly developing, Iran has many aspects of its country which are attempting to keep in line with contemporary expectations. Its influence around the world is unquestionable however its domestic issues continue to be a challenge to overcome.