Iran is a Middle Eastern country located in south-western Asia. Its area is approximately 1.65 million sq km (mostly desert, rugged and mountainous). Check out Iran photos to view the beautiful nature of Iran, including Mount Damavand, Dasht-i-Kavir and Dasht-i-Lut deserts, Lake Urmia, Karun river and date palms.

The official name of Iran is the "Islamic Republic of Iran". The historic name is Persia. The name Iran is derived from Aryan or Aryana, meaning the "Land of the Aryans".

Tehran is the capital of Iran and the largest and main city. Other major cities in Iran include Esfahan (Isfahan), Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Bukhara, Qom, Karaj, Zahedan, Urmia, Abadan, Yazd, Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Eslamshahr.

Iran is rich in oil (9% of world reserves) and natural gas (15% of world reserves). Other main industries include petrochemicals, metals, textiles, agriculture and fishing. Iran is also famous for its handmade Persian carpets and the Iranian caviar collected from the Caspian Sea.

Iran (Persia) was the home to many ancient civilisations. All have left a wealth of historic sites and monuments, including Tchogha Zanbil (Kingdom of Elam), Persepolis, Pasargadae (Achaemenid Empire), Takht-e Suleyman, palace of Darius the Great, the Royal Mosque, Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and Timurid Palace in Esfahan.

Iran has many natural and World Heritage sites, including Bam, Golestan Forest National Park, Kavir National Park, Gano and Lar protected areas.

The population of Iran is around 78 millions. The main spoken languages are Persian (Farsi), Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic, Balochi and Luri.

Persian literature, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, architecture, music and culture have influenced many civilizations throughout history. Famous Iranians (Persians) include Rudaki, Ferdowsi, Omar Khayyam, Nasir Al-Din Tusi and Ibn Sina (Avicenna).