What is Iran?
A: Iran also called Persia, and officially the
Islamic Republic of Iran, is
a country in Western Asia.
It is bordered by what two countries to the west?
A: Iraq and Turkey.
What two countries border Iran to the northwest?
A: Azerbaijan and Armenia.
How big is Iran?
A: It covers an area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi).
It is the second-largest country in Western Asia behind
what country?
A: Saudi Arabia.
What city is its capital?
A: Tehran.
The country is home to one of the world's oldest what?
A: Civilizations.
It began with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in
what period?
A: The fourth millennium BC..
It was first unified by what ancient Iranian people?
A: The Medes.
When was it unified by the Medes?
A: In the seventh century BC.
It reached its territorial height in the sixth century
BC, when Cyrus the Great founded what?
A: The Achaemenid Persian Empire, which became one of the largest empires in
history.
It has been described as the world's first effective
what?
A: Superpower.
The Achaemenid Empire fell to whom?
A: Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC.
It was subsequently divided into several what?
A: Hellenistic states.
An Iranian rebellion established what in the third
century BC?
A: The Parthian Empire, which was succeeded in the third century AD by the
Sassanid Empire.
Arab Muslims conquered the empire in the seventh
century AD, which led to what?
A: The Islamization of Iran.
In the 15th century, the native Safavids re-established
a unified Iranian state and national identity and converted the country to
what?
A: Shia Islam.
Under the reign of Nader Shah in the 18th century, Iran
once again became a what?
A: A major world power.
The early 20th century saw what?
A: The Persian Constitutional Revolution.
Efforts to nationalize its fossil fuel supply from whom
led to an Anglo-American coup in 1953?
A: Western companies.
After the Iranian Revolution, the current Islamic
Republic was established in what year?
A: 1979 by Ruhollah Khomeini, who became the country's first Supreme Leader.
The government of Iran is a what?
A: An Islamic theocracy.
The Iranian government is widely considered to be what?
A: Authoritarian and has attracted widespread criticism for its significant
constraints and abuses against human rights and civil liberties.
Iran is widely considered to be the largest adversary
of whom?
A: Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Iran is also considered to be one of the biggest
players within Middle Eastern affairs, with its government being involved
both directly and indirectly in what?
A: The majority of modern Middle Eastern conflicts.
It has large reserves of what?
A: Fossil fuels—including the second-largest natural gas supply and the
fourth-largest proven oil reserves.
The country's rich cultural legacy is reflected in part
by what?
A: Its 26 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.