Area Total | 1,648,195 sq km |
Climate | mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast |
Natural Resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur |
Imports | UAE 29.8%, China 12.7%, Turkey 4.4%, South Korea 4%, Germany 4% (2017) – industrial supplies, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services |
Government | theocratic republic |
Capital | Tehran |
Population | Population field listing 83,024,745 (July 2018 est.) |
Ethnicity | Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen and Turkic tribes |
Language | Persian (official), Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic |
Exports | China 27.5%, India 15.1%, South Korea 11.4%, Turkey 11.1%, Italy 5.7%, Japan 5.3% (2017) – petroleum 60%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets, cement, ore |
News about Iran
- Tehran and Baku to Establish Joint Energy Cooperation Task Forceby siavash on January 22, 2025
Tehran and Baku to Establish Joint Energy Cooperation Task Force TEHRAN (Iran News) Mohsen Paknejad, during a meeting on Tuesday, January 23, 2025, with Shahin Mustafayev and his accompanying delegation, stated that such meetings play a significant role in strengthening bilateral relations in various sectors. He highlighted that neighboring countries hold […]
- 20% Growth in Trade Between Iran and Azerbaijan in 2024by siavash on January 22, 2025
20% Growth in Trade Between Iran and Azerbaijan in 2024 TEHRAN (Iran News) Amin Tarfa made this statement on Tuesday at the opening of the 16th Joint Economic Commission meeting between Iran and Azerbaijan, held at the Espinas Palace Hotel in Tehran. He highlighted extensive cooperation opportunities in the fields of transportation and infrastructure, […]
- Amin Esmaeilnejad to Leave Skra Bełchatówby siavash on January 22, 2025
Amin Esmaeilnejad to Leave Skra Bełchatów TEHRAN (Iran News) Bulgarian opposite Radoslav Parapunov will also leave the team. Esmaeilnejad, 28, joined Skra last season from the Italian club Rana Verona. He is expected to be a key player for the Iranian national volleyball team in the upcoming 2025 competitions. The Iran Volleyball Federation officially […]
- Manufacturers, figures from private sector meet Ayatollah Khameneiby siavash on January 22, 2025
Manufacturers, figures from private sector meet Ayatollah Khamenei TEHRAN (Iran News) The meeting took place in the Imam Khomeini Complex on Wednesday morning, a day after the Leader paid a visit to the Pioneers of Progress exhibition, which showcased the private sector’s achievements. A number of figures active in the private sector are slated to […]
- Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia to Establish a Powerful Electric Gridby siavash on January 22, 2025
Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia to Establish a Powerful Electric Grid TEHRAN (Iran News) Abbas Aliabadi, Iran’s Minister of Energy, along with senior ministry officials, met with Shahin Mustafayev, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister, and his delegation on Tuesday, January 23, 2025. The discussions centered around various technical and engineering topics […]
- Iran Army employs Cobra helicopters, Fajr-5 missiles in northeast drillby siavash on January 22, 2025
Iran Army employs Cobra helicopters, Fajr-5 missiles in northeast drill TEHRAN (Iran News) The military drill featured various units of the Army Ground Forces, including artillery, armored divisions, airborne units, drone squads, electronic warfare units, and missile groups, all participating to enhance their operational readiness and effectiveness in […]
- Iran sympathizes with Turkiye over deadly hotel fireby siavash on January 22, 2025
Iran sympathizes with Turkiye over deadly hotel fire TEHRAN (Iran News) Dozens of people were killed and wounded when a fire tore through a ski resort hotel in northwestern Turkiye on Tuesday, forcing desperate holidaymakers to leap from windows to escape the flames and smoke. Baghaei conveyed the condolences and sympathies of the people and government […]
- Strike Houthis while Iran is weak, UN-backed Yemeni government urges westby Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor on January 21, 2025
Tehran ‘massively weakened’ by reverses in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, says vice-president of Aden-based administrationMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe west should seize the opportunity to target the Tehran-backed Houthi leadership in Yemen while the Iranian government is weakened, the vice-president of the UN-backed government in Aden has […]
- Petrochemical Exports Reach $10.3b in First Nine Months of the Yearby siavash on January 21, 2025
Petrochemical Exports Reach $10.3b in First Nine Months of the Year TEHRAN (Iran News) Madadi noted that for about nine years, there have been continuous calls from the Ministry of Energy regarding renewable energy, which is both environmentally beneficial and utilizes God-given resources such as wind and sunlight to generate needed electricity in the […]
- Iran’s Exports to Europe Grow by 5%by siavash on January 21, 2025
Iran’s Exports to Europe Grow by 5% TEHRAN (Iran News) In November 2024, Iran-EU trade volume amounted to €377 million, representing a 19% decline compared to €467 million in the same month last year. European exports to Iran fell by 22%, dropping from €383 million to €299 million. Conversely, Iran’s exports to Europe increased by 7% The post […]
- Iran to join Pakistan-hosted upcoming AMAN-25 naval exerciseby siavash on January 21, 2025
Iran to join Pakistan-hosted upcoming AMAN-25 naval exercise TEHRAN (Iran News) After he met with Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Monday evening, General Bagheri mentioned in an interview with IRNA that Iran’s military delegation had held meetings with Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir, the Chief of the Air […]
- Relief trucks start to deliver aid inside Gaza – as it happenedby Kate Lamb (now); Maya Yang, Yohannes Lowe; Tom Bryant and Adam Fulton (earlier) on January 20, 2025
This blog has closed. Follow the latest on our new liveblog hereIsraeli tanks continued to shell areas in Gaza as the scheduled time of 8.30am (0630 GMT) for the ceasefire to take effect passed, Reuters reports.Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a brief televised address on Sunday that the political echelon had directed the military to […]
- Iranian court sentences pop star Tataloo to death for blasphemyby Agence France-Press in Tehran on January 19, 2025
Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo’s five-year jail term increased after prosecutor’s objection, according to reportsAn Iranian court has sentenced the popular singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, known as Tataloo, to death on appeal after he was convicted of blasphemy, according to local media reports.“The supreme court accepted the prosecutor’s objection” to […]
- Two judges shot dead in Iran’s supreme court building, state media sayby Agence France-Presse on January 18, 2025
Unnamed gunman killed Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghisseh before shooting himself, Mezan reportsTwo judges have been killed in a shooting on Saturday at the supreme court building in Tehran, Iranian state media have reported.“This morning, a gunman infiltrated the supreme court in a planned act of assassination of two brave and experienced judges. The two […]
- Iran knows my son is innocent, says mother of French man held in Evin jailby Deepa Parent on January 17, 2025
Olivier Grondeau was arrested in 2022 and has accused Iran of using him for ‘political blackmail’ against FranceThe mother of a French traveller detained in Iran for two years has said authorities “know he is innocent” but continue to hold him in the country’s notorious Evin prison.Olivier Grondeau, 33, was arrested from his hotel room in Shiraz, […]
- Islamist groups in Middle East will emerge from Gaza war weakenedby Jason Burke International security correspondent on January 16, 2025
Hamas, Hezbollah and other militia are enfeebled – but Palestine is likely to stay at forefront of global politicsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe ceasefire due to come into force on Sunday, barring a major last-minute problem, will cement massive and rapid changes across the Middle East and may seal a significant defeat for the Islamist militant […]
- A ceasefire deal is here. For Gaza, the Middle East and the world, the future remains unknownby Patrick Wintour, diplomatic editor on January 16, 2025
The sacrifice has been so great, the misery so complete, that few can claim with certainty that this was all worthwhileThere may be no winners in war, but history suggests combatants are often eager to convince the world otherwise.The ending of the 15-month conflict in Gaza may prove an exception. The sacrifice has been so great, the misery so complete, and […]
- My Stolen Planet review – home-movie bulletins unearths Iran’s forbidden pastby Peter Bradshaw on January 13, 2025
Exiled artist Farahnaz Sharifi uses old Super 8 family movies to contrast life before and after the 1979 revolutionFarahnaz Sharifi is an Iranian artist and film-maker who has been exiled from her homeland since 2022, and with this personal essay movie she ponders the fact that after the 1979 revolution, her childhood and youth happened on two planets: the […]
- UK should back tough Trump sanctions on Iran, report saysby Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor on January 12, 2025
Former top UK official believes intensifying economic pressure on Tehran would erode internal support for regimeThe UK should back Donald Trump’s expected maximum economic sanctions against Iran as part of an effort to encourage nationals to end their support for the current regime in Tehran, Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary, argues in a report […]
- Italy releases Iranian man wanted by US over drone attack in Jordanby Associated Press on January 12, 2025
Mohammad Abedini detained on US warrant three days before Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in IranItaly has released an Iranian citizen wanted by the US over a drone attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago, after the Italian justice minister asked a court to revoke his arrest.Mohammad Abedini has already returned to Iran, Iranian […]