The current long-time
There have been only two Supreme Leaders since the founding of the Islamic Republic, and the current leader (Ali Khamenei), has been in power since 1989.
For over a century, the Iranian people have struggled toward democracy. During the last 40 years, however, after the ousting of the Shah, the Iranian people have been subjugated by an oppressive theocracy called the “Islamic Republic,” with a religious “Supreme Leader” overseeing all aspects of Iranian life.
The Islamic Republic has had two Supreme Leaders: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who held the position from Iranian revolution in 1979 until his death in 1989, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has held the position since Khomeini's death.
The new provisional revolutionary government officially abolished the monarchy and declared Iran to be a republic.
The party's ideology is Islamic socialism, Social democracy and Anti-imperialism.
Restrictions and punishments in the Islamic Republic of Iran which violate international human rights norms include harsh penalties for crimes, punishment of victimless crimes such as fornication and homosexuality, execution of offenders under 18 years of age, restrictions on freedom of speech and the press (including ...
Some 60% of Iran's economy is centrally planned. It is dominated by oil and gas production, although over 40 industries are directly involved in the Tehran Stock Exchange. The stock exchange has been one of the best performing exchanges in the world over the past decade.
The Iranian Constitution states very general rules concerning freedom of expression. Article 24 states: "Publications and the press have freedom of expression except when it is detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam or the rights of the public.
Iran and Turkey are not Arab countries and their primary languages are Farsi and Turkish respectively. Arab countries have a rich diversity of ethnic, linguistic, and religious communities. These include Kurds, Armenians, Berbers and others.
Iran is a Muslim country in which Islamic law is strictly enforced. You should respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times and be aware of your actions to ensure that they do not offend, especially during the holy month of Ramadan or if you intend to visit religious areas.
The Pahlavi dynasty (Persian: دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979.
The GFP index denotes Iran as a Top 20 world power. For 2023, Iran is ranked 17 of 145 out of the countries considered for the annual GFP review. The nation holds a PwrIndx* score of 0.2712 (a score of 0.0000 is considered 'perfect'). This entry last reviewed on 01/09/2023.
As Supreme Leader, Khamenei is the most powerful political authority in the Islamic Republic.
Women have no legal protection against domestic violence or sexual harassment by anyone, and the constitution has no non-discrimination clause with gender as a protected category.
Iranians use social media despite government restrictions, although many bloggers, online activists, and technical staff have faced prison sentences, torture, harassment and abuse. In the last few months, two popular applications, WhatsApp and Instagram, were filtered in Iran due to protests against the government.
The Iranian people are the most friendly one we have ever met. During our trip, we spoke with a few European and American tourists. All of them were unanimous on saying good things about Iranian hospitality. In fact, it was in Iran where we started to learn a big lesson: “do not generalise.
After the western removal of the democratically elected government of Iran, between 1954 and 1960 a rapid increase in oil revenues and sustained western foreign aid led to greater investment and fast-paced economic growth, primarily in the government sector.
Output rose slightly in 2021 because global oil demand increased. Although sanctions on its oil exports remained in place, Iran shipped more crude oil, primarily to China, in 2021.
Iran is not known to currently possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and has signed treaties repudiating the possession of WMDs including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Women in Iran are banned from playing music and singing in public, yet another injustice half of the country's population have to endure. The ban, which dates back to the early days of the establishment of the Islamic Republic, was put in place under the pretext of being in contravention of Sharia law.
What is known as an 'inappropriate behavior of couples in public', including kissing, hugging, etc., is severely restricted in Iran. In fact, holding hands and giving hugs are a less restricted in public than kissing. Moreover, greeting people can be different in different cultures.
Since 1999, Iran has been designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. On November 15, 2021, the Secretary of State redesignated Iran as a CPC.
The Communist Party of Iran (CPI; Persian: حزب کمونیست ایران) is an Iranian communist party founded on 2 September 1983. It has an armed wing and its membership is predominantly Kurdish. The CPI is active throughout the industrialised areas of Iran.
According to Iranian government estimates, Muslims constitute 99.4 percent of the population, of whom 90-95 percent are Shia, and 5-10 percent are Sunni, mostly Turkmen, Arabs, Baluchis, and Kurds, living in the northeast, southwest, southeast, and northwest provinces, respectively.