Iran formally known as Persia is located bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan.
Iran means land of the Aryans and gained its independence on 1 April 1979 when the Islamic Republic of Iran was proclaimed. The capital of Iran is Tehran.
Its main exports are Petroleum, carpets and agricultural products; has many tourist attractions.
There are ancient towns, mosques, museums and archaeological sites such as Meidan Emam (Naghsh-e Jahan) Square, Ali Qapu Palace, The Palace of Roses and the Central Bank to name but a few.
Iran’s flag has three equal horizontal bands of green, white, and red; the national emblem, a representation of the word Allah is centred in the flag and; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) is repeated 11 times along the edge of each horizontal band in white and red respectively.
Islamic Republic of Iran
About Islamic Republic of Iran
National Olympic Committee
Sports
Football is by far one of the most popular sports in Iran but polo and wrestling are more traditional.
Other popular sports include skiing, martial arts, basketball, volleyball and futsal. Futsal is a form of indoor football played by two teams of five.
It is played on a hard court surface delimited by lines and played with a smaller ball with less bounce.
Climate
Iran's climate is mostly dry or semidry, to subtropical along the coast.
On the northern coastal plain temperatures nearly fall below freezing and it remains humid for the rest of the year.
Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 °C (85 °F).
The west experiences lower temperatures, severe winters with below zero average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall.
The east is dry, with less than 200 mm (eight in) of rain, and has occasional deserts.
Average summer temperatures exceed 38 °C (100 °F). The coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in southern Iran have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers.
Religion
Muslim as the main religion comprising of 98%, the other 2% consist of various other religions
Culture
Iran is one of the world's most mountainous countries and of the Iranian Plateau with the exception of the coasts of the Caspian Sea and Khuzestan.
It has a wide variety of wildlife including bears, wild pigs, wolves, panthers, Eurasian lynx, and foxes.
Other domestic animals include sheep, goats, cattle, horses, water buffalo, donkeys, and camels.
The birds which are native to Iran are pheasants, partridges, eagles and falcons.
The Culture of Iran is a mix of Islamic and ancient pre-Islamic and has been a predominant culture of the Middle East and Central Asia, with Persian considered the language of intellectuals, religion and populace.