CINXE.COM
Iran - RationalWiki
<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>Iran - RationalWiki</title> <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":!1,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"Z9-bpXZbEXehP0c9Z_eB6AAAAIs","wgCSPNonce":!1,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":!1,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Iran","wgTitle":"Iran","wgCurRevisionId":2722682,"wgRevisionId":2722682,"wgArticleId":10690,"wgIsArticle":!0,"wgIsRedirect":!1,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Silver-level articles","Anti-Christian bigotry","Anti-Western","Antisemitism","Atheophobia","Asian countries","Authoritarian regimes","Fundamentalism","Government incompetence","Homophobia","Iran","Islam","Islamism","Islamic extremism","Racism","Middle Eastern countries","Religious discrimination","Sexism","Terrorism","Theocracy" ,"Totalitarianism","Transphobia","Zoroastrianism"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Iran","wgRelevantArticleId":10690,"wgIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgRedirectedFrom":"Persia","wgMediaViewerOnClick":!0,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":!0,"wgInternalRedirectTargetUrl":"/wiki/Iran"};RLSTATE={"site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","mediawiki.page.gallery.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles.legacy":"ready","mediawiki.toc.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["mediawiki.action.view.redirect","ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.legacy.js","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","mmv.head","mmv.bootstrap.autostart"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.options@1hzgi",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); });});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cmediawiki.page.gallery.styles%7Cmediawiki.toc.styles%7Cskins.vector.styles.legacy&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.35.6"/> <meta name="description" content="Iran (Farsi: ایران Irān e-rahn) sometimes incorrectly pronounced "I ran", officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān) and known as "Persia", is a large and populous country sitting at the eastern end of the Middle East. As a country run by Shias in a region dominated by Sunnis, it has traditionally had hostile relations with most neighbors. These neighbors include Turkey, the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the former Soviet Turkic republics, and the rowdy neighbors Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iranian national identity is closely tied to its status as the continuation of the ancient Persian civilization. One of those Persian dynasties, the Safavids, was largely responsible for Iran's mass conversion to Shia Islam. Iran's capital and largest city is Tehran."/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit"/> <link rel="edit" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="RationalWiki (en)"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="RationalWiki Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Iran"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="RationalWiki"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Iran"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Iran (Farsi: ایران Irān e-rahn) sometimes incorrectly pronounced "I ran", officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān) and known as "Persia", is a large and populous country sitting at the eastern end of the Middle East. As a country run by Shias in a region dominated by Sunnis, it has traditionally had hostile relations with most neighbors. These neighbors include Turkey, the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the former Soviet Turkic republics, and the rowdy neighbors Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iranian national identity is closely tied to its status as the continuation of the ancient Persian civilization. One of those Persian dynasties, the Safavids, was largely responsible for Iran's mass conversion to Shia Islam. Iran's capital and largest city is Tehran."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Iran"/> <!--[if lt IE 9]><script src="/w/resources/lib/html5shiv/html5shiv.js"></script><![endif]--> </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Iran rootpage-Iran skin-vector action-view minerva--history-page-action-enabled skin-vector-legacy"> <div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"> <a id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice" class="mw-body-content"><div id="localNotice" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div id="2025_RationalWiki_.27Oregon_Plan.27_Fundraiser"> <table role="presentation" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width: 60%; text-align: left;"><big><center><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">2025 RationalWiki 'Oregon Plan' Fundraiser</a></b></center></big> <p><b>There is no RationalWiki without you.</b> We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. We will never allow ads because we must remain independent. We cannot rely on big donors with corresponding big agendas. We are not the largest website around, but <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">we believe we play an important role in defending truth and objectivity</a>. </p> </td> <td style="width: 40%; text-align: center;"><big><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">Fighting pseudoscience isn't free</a>.<br />We are 100% user-supported! Help and donate $5, $10, $20 or whatever you can today with <img alt="PayPal Logo.png" src="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/61px-PayPal_Logo.png" decoding="async" width="61" height="17" srcset="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/92px-PayPal_Logo.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/122px-PayPal_Logo.png 2x" data-file-width="883" data-file-height="244" />!</b></big><a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=67BJMQC85CUFW" title="Donate via PayPal" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/100px-DonateButton.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="32" srcset="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/150px-DonateButton.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/200px-DonateButton.png 2x" data-file-width="759" data-file-height="241" /></a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div role="progressbar" style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; position: relative; padding: 2px; border-radius: 18px;"> <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; left: 0%; margin: 0 0 0 10px"><b>Donations so far: $7608.77</b></span></a><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; right: 0%; margin: 0 10px 0 0"><b>Goal: $10000</b></span></a><div style="height: 28px; border-radius: 14px; background-color: hsl(60.87016,100%,45%); width: 76.0877%;"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div class="mw-indicators mw-body-content"> <div id="mw-indicator-silver" class="mw-indicator"><a href="/wiki/Category:Silver-level_articles" title="Category:Silver-level articles"><img alt="Silver-level article" src="/w/images/thumb/d/dd/Silverbrain.png/25px-Silverbrain.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="25" style="vertical-align: baseline" srcset="/w/images/thumb/d/dd/Silverbrain.png/38px-Silverbrain.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/d/dd/Silverbrain.png/50px-Silverbrain.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="800" /></a></div> </div> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading" lang="en">Iran</h1> <div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content"> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From RationalWiki</div> <div id="contentSub"><span class="mw-redirectedfrom">(Redirected from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Persia&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Persia">Persia</a>)</span></div> <div id="contentSub2"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav"></div> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#mw-head">Jump to navigation</a> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#searchInput">Jump to search</a> <div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:197px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Iran_-_Location_Map_(2013)_-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Iran_-_Location_Map_%282013%29_-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg/195px-Iran_-_Location_Map_%282013%29_-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg.png" decoding="async" width="195" height="195" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Iran_-_Location_Map_%282013%29_-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg/293px-Iran_-_Location_Map_%282013%29_-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Iran_-_Location_Map_%282013%29_-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg/390px-Iran_-_Location_Map_%282013%29_-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="250" data-file-height="250" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Iran_-_Location_Map_(2013)_-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Map of Iran.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span> The American people have the greatest respect and admiration for the Iranian people. Your Kings from Cyrus and Darius are known among those famous monarchs who have advanced the cause of humanity. Your scientists have contributed to the foundations on which we have built our industrial society. Your philosophers and poets have enriched the culture of the West.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—US president <a href="/wiki/Dwight_Eisenhower" class="mw-redirect" title="Dwight Eisenhower">Dwight Eisenhower</a> to Shah Reza Pahlavi.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="navbox" style="float: right; clear:right; border: 2px solid silver; margin: 0 0 .5em .5em; width: 200px;"> <div style="background-color: #e7ece6; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; padding: .3em;"><b>Iran</b> <b></b></div> <center><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_Iran.svg" class="image"><img alt="Flag of Iran.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/195px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png" decoding="async" width="195" height="111" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/293px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/390px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="630" data-file-height="360" /></a></center> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>Demographics</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by population" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by population">Population</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>83,857,606 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by GDP (nominal)" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP (nominal)">GDP (million)</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>458,500 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita">GDP p/cap.</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>5,506 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by life expectancy" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by life expectancy">Life expectancy</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>76.5 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by Human Development Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by Human Development Index">Development Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>0.797 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>Government</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Democracy Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Democracy Index">Democracy Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>2.38 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Corruption Perceptions Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Corruption Perceptions Index">Corruption Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>26 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>More</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Education Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Education Index">Education Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>0.704 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country" class="extiw" title="wp:Importance of religion by country" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Importance of religion by country">Religiosity</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>73 </td></tr></tbody></table> </div> <p><b>Iran</b> (Farsi: <span lang="fa">ایران</span> <i>Irān</i> e-rahn) sometimes incorrectly pronounced "I ran", officially the <b>Islamic Republic of Iran</b> (<span lang="fa">جمهوری اسلامی ایران</span> <i>Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān</i>) and known as "<b>Persia</b>", is a large and populous country sitting at the eastern end of the Middle East. As a country run by <a href="/wiki/Shia" class="mw-redirect" title="Shia">Shias</a> in a region dominated by <a href="/wiki/Sunni" title="Sunni">Sunnis</a>, it has traditionally had hostile relations with most neighbors. These neighbors include <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>, the Gulf States of <a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a>, the former <a href="/wiki/Soviet" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet">Soviet</a> Turkic republics, and the rowdy neighbors <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a>. Iranian <a href="/wiki/Nationalism" title="Nationalism">national identity</a> is closely tied to its status as the continuation of the ancient <a href="/wiki/Persia" class="mw-redirect" title="Persia">Persian</a> civilization. One of those Persian dynasties, the Safavids, was largely responsible for Iran's mass conversion to <a href="/wiki/Shia" class="mw-redirect" title="Shia">Shia</a> Islam. Iran's capital and largest city is Tehran. </p><p>Iran is one of the ancient cradles of civilization, being home to the Elamite kingdoms, the ancient Median culture, and the massively powerful Achaemenid Empire. The Achaemenids fell to Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE and were divided into several Hellenistic states. An Iranian rebellion established the Parthian Empire in the 3rd century BCE, succeeded in the 3rd century CE by the Sasanian Empire, a leading world power for the next four centuries. During this early period, <a href="/wiki/Zoroastrian" class="mw-redirect" title="Zoroastrian">Zoroastrianism</a> was the dominant religion in Iran. In the 7th century CE, the Arab followers of <a href="/wiki/Muhammad" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a>'s fancy new <a href="/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Islamic</a> religion invaded the lands outside the Arabian Peninsula, including Iran. Islamic soldiers forcibly converted the populace to <a href="/wiki/Sunni" title="Sunni">Sunni</a> Islam, threatening them with Jizya (an Islamic tax given to non-muslims) if they resisted. Iran's rich culture permeated the Islamic world during the religion's golden age, but the end of that golden age coincided with Iran's conquest by first the Seljuk Turks and then the Mongol Empire. Not a culture that stayed down for long, the Iranians rose again. They established themselves as a state once more under the Safavid dynasty, during which many of Iran's modern characteristics came into being. </p><p>After having its heyday as a regional power, the Safavid Empire started declining rapidly due to constant wars with the Ottoman Empire and the <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russian</a> Empire. The Safavid dynasty was replaced by the Qajar dynasty, and during this period, Iran adopted a modern constitution that limited the Shah's power and established a legislature. Unfortunately, Iran came under heavy foreign influence from Western powers seeking control of its formidable <a href="/wiki/Oil" title="Oil">oil</a> reserves. When one of Iran's prime ministers, <a href="/wiki/Mohammad_Mossadegh" title="Mohammad Mossadegh">Mohammad Mossadegh</a>, tried to limit that foreign control, the <a href="/wiki/CIA" title="CIA">CIA</a> and <a href="/wiki/British" class="mw-redirect" title="British">British</a> intelligence launched a coup against him in 1953. That coup ended Iranian democracy and saw the Shah take over as an absolute monarch. Although Iran was a staunch Western ally, the Shah treated his people like shit, and a revolution against him was inevitable. </p><p>Said revolution manifested in 1979 under religious leadership, and it established Iran as the <a href="/wiki/Theocratic" class="mw-redirect" title="Theocratic">theocratic</a> Islamic Republic. That new regime was then strengthened when it immediately came under attack by <a href="/wiki/Saddam_Hussein" title="Saddam Hussein">Saddam Hussein</a>; the <a href="/wiki/Iran-Iraq_War" title="Iran-Iraq War">Iran-Iraq War</a> united Iranians against a common enemy and behind their new government. </p><p>Relations with the West soured after the revolution, and the US has been waging a proxy war on Iran for about 40 years now. The US support for <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a> and <a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> makes Iran angry, while Iran's sponsoring of Shia militias and <a href="/wiki/Hezbollah" title="Hezbollah">Hezbollah</a> has pissed off the West. Iran is under heavy economic sanctions and is now surrounded on all sides by countries hosting US military bases.<sup id="cite_ref-usbases_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-usbases-2">[2]</a></sup> However, Iran still maintains its status as a regional power free from American influence. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#About_the_name"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">About the name</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Historical_overview"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Historical overview</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Ancient_history"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Ancient history</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Achaemenid_Empire"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Achaemenid Empire</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Seleucids_and_Sassanids"><span class="tocnumber">2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Seleucids and Sassanids</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Early_Islamic_era"><span class="tocnumber">2.4</span> <span class="toctext">Early Islamic era</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#Turkish_and_Mongol_invasions"><span class="tocnumber">2.5</span> <span class="toctext">Turkish and Mongol invasions</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="#Safavid_Empire"><span class="tocnumber">2.6</span> <span class="toctext">Safavid Empire</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#Qajar_dynasty_and_the_Constitutional_Revolution"><span class="tocnumber">2.7</span> <span class="toctext">Qajar dynasty and the Constitutional Revolution</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#Pahlavi_dynasty"><span class="tocnumber">2.8</span> <span class="toctext">Pahlavi dynasty</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-11"><a href="#Modernization"><span class="tocnumber">2.8.1</span> <span class="toctext">Modernization</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-12"><a href="#The_democratic_years"><span class="tocnumber">2.8.2</span> <span class="toctext">The democratic years</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-13"><a href="#Absolute_monarchy"><span class="tocnumber">2.8.3</span> <span class="toctext">Absolute monarchy</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14"><a href="#Iranian_Revolution"><span class="tocnumber">2.9</span> <span class="toctext">Iranian Revolution</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-15"><a href="#Hostage_crisis"><span class="tocnumber">2.9.1</span> <span class="toctext">Hostage crisis</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16"><a href="#Iran-Iraq_War"><span class="tocnumber">2.10</span> <span class="toctext">Iran-Iraq War</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-17"><a href="#Iran_today"><span class="tocnumber">2.11</span> <span class="toctext">Iran today</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18"><a href="#Changing_demographics"><span class="tocnumber">2.12</span> <span class="toctext">Changing demographics</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-19"><a href="#Government"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Government</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20"><a href="#Supreme_Leader"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Supreme Leader</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21"><a href="#President"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">President</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22"><a href="#Prime_Minister_.281906.E2.80.931989.29"><span class="tocnumber">3.3</span> <span class="toctext">Prime Minister (1906–1989)</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-23"><a href="#Guardian_Council"><span class="tocnumber">3.4</span> <span class="toctext">Guardian Council</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-24"><a href="#Islamic_Consultative_Assembly"><span class="tocnumber">3.5</span> <span class="toctext">Islamic Consultative Assembly</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-25"><a href="#Revolutionary_Guard_Corps"><span class="tocnumber">3.6</span> <span class="toctext">Revolutionary Guard Corps</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-26"><a href="#Foreign_relations"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Foreign relations</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27"><a href="#United_States"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">United States</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28"><a href="#Israel"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">Israel</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-29"><a href="#Saudi_Arabia"><span class="tocnumber">4.3</span> <span class="toctext">Saudi Arabia</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-30"><a href="#Human_rights"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Human rights</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-31"><a href="#Executions"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">Executions</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32"><a href="#Freedom_of_expression.2C_association.2C_and_assembly"><span class="tocnumber">5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Freedom of expression, association, and assembly</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-33"><a href="#Due_process_and_mistreatment_of_prisoners"><span class="tocnumber">5.3</span> <span class="toctext">Due process and mistreatment of prisoners</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-34"><a href="#Women.27s_rights"><span class="tocnumber">5.4</span> <span class="toctext">Women's rights</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-35"><a href="#Discrimination_against_religious_minorities"><span class="tocnumber">5.5</span> <span class="toctext">Discrimination against religious minorities</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-36"><a href="#Discrimination_against_ethnic_minorities"><span class="tocnumber">5.6</span> <span class="toctext">Discrimination against ethnic minorities</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-37"><a href="#Gallery"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Gallery</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-38"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-39"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-40"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="About_the_name">About the name</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: About the name">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>In 1935 the Iranian government requested those countries which it had diplomatic relations with to call Persia by its endonym <i>Iran</i>, which has always been the name of the country in Persian (ایران). The suggestion for the change is said to have come from the Iranian ambassador to <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Germany</a>, who came under the influence of the <a href="/wiki/Nazi" class="mw-redirect" title="Nazi">Nazis</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-reza_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-reza-4">[4]</a></sup> Germany was in the grip of racial fever and cultivated good relations with nations of "<a href="/wiki/Aryan" title="Aryan">Aryan</a>" blood. It is said that some German friends of the ambassador persuaded him that, as with the advent of Reza <a href="/wiki/Shah" class="mw-redirect" title="Shah">Shah</a>, Persia had turned a new leaf in its history and had freed itself from the pernicious influences of <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">Britain</a> and <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a>, whose interventions in Persian affairs had practically crippled the country under the Qajars, it was only fitting that the country is called by its own name, "Iran". This would signal a new beginning and bring a new era in Iranian history to the world and signify the Aryan race of its population, as "Iran" is a cognate of "Aryan". The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out a circular to all foreign embassies in Tehran, requesting that the country be called "Iran".<sup id="cite_ref-reza_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-reza-4">[4]</a></sup> Diplomatic courtesy obliged, and the name "Iran" appeared in official correspondence and news items. Iranian scholar Ehsan Yarshater regarded the naming change as "a grievous error based on a misdirected sense of <a href="/wiki/Nationalism" title="Nationalism">nationalism</a>."<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> Nevertheless, the debate on what the country ought to be named internationally continues, with exiled Iranians largely preferring the exonym <i>Persia</i> to dissociate themselves from the current regime.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Historical_overview">Historical overview</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Historical overview">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA_%DA%86%D8%BA%D8%A7_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%84.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA_%DA%86%D8%BA%D8%A7_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%84.jpg/275px-%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA_%DA%86%D8%BA%D8%A7_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%84.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="183" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA_%DA%86%D8%BA%D8%A7_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%84.jpg/413px-%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA_%DA%86%D8%BA%D8%A7_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%84.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA_%DA%86%D8%BA%D8%A7_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%84.jpg/550px-%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA_%DA%86%D8%BA%D8%A7_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%84.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5184" data-file-height="3456" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA_%DA%86%D8%BA%D8%A7_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%84.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Ancient Elamite ziggurat.</div></div></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Ancient_history">Ancient history</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Ancient history">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>When we say ancient history here, we mean <i><b>ancient</b></i> history. Various early hominids lived in the region hundreds of thousands of years ago, and <a href="/wiki/Human" title="Human">humans</a> started growing grains here at least 12,000 years ago.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup> Iran was also the home of the world's oldest known wine jar, dating from 7,000 years ago.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> Iran is also home to one of the oldest cities globally, Susa, established around 4200 BCE and became one of the region's most important cities for millennia afterward.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup> </p><p>By around 3000 BCE, the rest of the Iranian region followed suit and started urbanizing, giving rise to the Elamite civilization and culture.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[10]</a></sup> The Elamites were influenced by the nearby ancient Mesopotamian civilization, and they built the only known ziggurats that weren't associated with the Mesopotamians.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[11]</a></sup> Idiots might think that the existence of many ziggurats is somehow evidence of the inherent specialness of <a href="/wiki/Pyramid" title="Pyramid">pyramids</a>. That shape is just the most efficient way of piling rocks.<sup>[<i>citation NOT needed</i>]</sup> Mesopotamian influence on Iran became even stronger when it came under occupation by first Akkad and then Ur.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[12]</a></sup> </p><p>Other groups also migrated into Iran from further north, so during the ancient times, there were several groups of people in the region. First were the Scythians, nomadic raiders living in the Zagros Mountains.<sup id="cite_ref-groups_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-groups-13">[13]</a></sup> Then there were the Medes and the Persians, who settled as agrarian cultures and paid tribute to their more aggressive Mesopotamian neighbors.<sup id="cite_ref-groups_13-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-groups-13">[13]</a></sup> During the 7th century BCE, the Persians were ruled by Hakamanish, known as Achaemenes to the Ancient Greeks. One of his descendants would become Cyrus the Great, the man who united the various Iranian peoples into their first great empire. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Achaemenid_Empire">Achaemenid Empire</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Achaemenid Empire">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:352px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Tachara,_Persepolis.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Tachara%2C_Persepolis.jpg/350px-Tachara%2C_Persepolis.jpg" decoding="async" width="350" height="161" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Tachara%2C_Persepolis.jpg/525px-Tachara%2C_Persepolis.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Tachara%2C_Persepolis.jpg/700px-Tachara%2C_Persepolis.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3727" data-file-height="1719" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Tachara,_Persepolis.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Ruins in Persopolis, ceremonial capital of the Achaemenids.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Cyrus’s multiculturalism made an enduring imperial peace a real possibility at last and defined the way later empires sought to achieve stable rule.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Peter Davidson, <i>Ancient History Encyclopedia.</i><sup id="cite_ref-cyrus_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-cyrus-14">[14]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The Persian tribes started unifying through conquest, and they created something of a weak "empire" that would be inherited by Cyrus the Great. Around 1000 BCE, the priest Zoroaster started spreading his ideas about <a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">religion</a>, specifically that there were only two gods. These were Ahura Mazda, the god of goodness and wisdom who should be worshiped, and Angra Mainyu, the god of evil and lies who should be appeased.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[15]</a></sup> Zoroaster's ideas were initially met with resistance from the traditionally polytheistic Iranians. However, he finally won support from one of the regional kings, and his religion became dominant by the time of Cyrus the Great. </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Thermopilas_Batlle_art.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Thermopilas_Batlle_art.jpg/330px-Thermopilas_Batlle_art.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="157" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Thermopilas_Batlle_art.jpg/500px-Thermopilas_Batlle_art.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Thermopilas_Batlle_art.jpg/960px-Thermopilas_Batlle_art.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1400" data-file-height="800" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Thermopilas_Batlle_art.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The Battle of Thermopylae, Xerxes' great defeat.</div></div></div> <p>When Cyrus came to power, he completely redefined what it meant to be an empire. Cyrus took the title "Shah", or King, and he built his state on the principle of cooperation. He spared conquered rulers and sought their advice, and he allowed his people extensive religious and personal freedom.<sup id="cite_ref-cyrus_14-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-cyrus-14">[14]</a></sup> Cyrus didn't take the city of Babylon by force; instead, he convinced the people that he would be a better ruler than their king and was thus welcomed into the city on a metaphorical red carpet. Most unusual of all, Cyrus was even nice to the <a href="/wiki/Jews" class="mw-redirect" title="Jews">Jews</a>. He freed the Hebrews from captivity in Babylonia and gave them money to rebuild their old city of <a href="/wiki/Jerusalem" title="Jerusalem">Jerusalem</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-cyrus_14-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-cyrus-14">[14]</a></sup> This was both kind and cynical, for Cyrus gained an unshakably loyal buffer state between himself and <a href="/wiki/Ancient_Egypt" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a>. </p><p>The Achaemenid Empire could have been something pretty great. However, Cyrus died, and his successor Darius I abandoned many of Cyrus' policies in favor of heavily taxing everyone to build a giant army and brutally putting down the resulting revolts.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[16]</a></sup> Darius also gave himself a new title, the grand "Shahanshah", or "King of Kings." Darius' son, Xerxes I, was even worse. Xerxes ignored the old multicultural policies, destroyed Babylon in retaliation for a revolt, and launched the famously failed invasion of Ancient Greece. </p><p>After this humiliation, the Achaemenid Empire slid into its period of decline as people were overburdened with taxation and wasteful spending, and local authorities increasingly ignored rulings from the capital. The empire was finally put out of its misery by Alexander the Great. </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:327px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Battle_of_Issus_mosaic_-_Museo_Archeologico_Nazionale_-_Naples_2013-05-16_16-25-06_BW.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Battle_of_Issus_mosaic_-_Museo_Archeologico_Nazionale_-_Naples_2013-05-16_16-25-06_BW.jpg/325px-Battle_of_Issus_mosaic_-_Museo_Archeologico_Nazionale_-_Naples_2013-05-16_16-25-06_BW.jpg" decoding="async" width="325" height="195" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Battle_of_Issus_mosaic_-_Museo_Archeologico_Nazionale_-_Naples_2013-05-16_16-25-06_BW.jpg/488px-Battle_of_Issus_mosaic_-_Museo_Archeologico_Nazionale_-_Naples_2013-05-16_16-25-06_BW.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Battle_of_Issus_mosaic_-_Museo_Archeologico_Nazionale_-_Naples_2013-05-16_16-25-06_BW.jpg/650px-Battle_of_Issus_mosaic_-_Museo_Archeologico_Nazionale_-_Naples_2013-05-16_16-25-06_BW.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3562" data-file-height="2133" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Battle_of_Issus_mosaic_-_Museo_Archeologico_Nazionale_-_Naples_2013-05-16_16-25-06_BW.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Mural from Pompeii depicting Alexander the Great's victory at Issus.</div></div></div> <p>Despite this ignominious end, the empire should be best remembered for its great influence on future cultures and the modern-day. Darius revolutionized the economy by placing it on a silver and gold coinage system. The extensive Persian trade network led to the propagation of Persian words worldwide.<sup id="cite_ref-darius_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-darius-17">[17]</a></sup> Some of these words made their way into the English language, including <i>bazaar, shawl, sash, turquoise, tiara, orange, lemon, melon, peach, spinach</i>, and <i>asparagus.</i><sup id="cite_ref-darius_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-darius-17">[17]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Seleucids_and_Sassanids">Seleucids and Sassanids</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Seleucids and Sassanids">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Alexander the Great was determined to rule and hold Iran. Alexander defeated the last Achaemenid Shahanshah at the Battle of Issus in 333 BCE,<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[18]</a></sup> and he then ordered 10,000 of his officers and soldiers to intermarry with Iranian women.<sup id="cite_ref-alex_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-alex-19">[19]</a></sup> Alexander's plans would never be realized. He died young, and his vast empire was divided among his commanders. General Seleucus became ruler of Babylon and Persia, and he encouraged mass immigration of Greeks into the region.<sup id="cite_ref-alex_19-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-alex-19">[19]</a></sup> The Seleucid Empire was originally quite similar to Cyrus' original dream. It was a harmonious blending of eastern and western cultures with an effective bureaucracy and lucrative trade network.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[20]</a></sup> Like many empires before and after it, though, the Seleucid state eventually became too big to govern and fell apart. </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Victory_of_Shapur_I_over_Valerian.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Victory_of_Shapur_I_over_Valerian.jpg/275px-Victory_of_Shapur_I_over_Valerian.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="159" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Victory_of_Shapur_I_over_Valerian.jpg/413px-Victory_of_Shapur_I_over_Valerian.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Victory_of_Shapur_I_over_Valerian.jpg/550px-Victory_of_Shapur_I_over_Valerian.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1328" data-file-height="768" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Victory_of_Shapur_I_over_Valerian.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Bas-relief depicting the victory of Sasanian ruler Shapur I over Roman emperor Valerian.</div></div></div> <p>One of the groups that rebelled against the Seleucid rule was the Parthi on the coast of the Caspian Sea. They were probably descended from the old Scythians.<sup id="cite_ref-parthia_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parthia-21">[21]</a></sup> The Parthians first broke free from Seleucid rule and then conquered Persia for themselves in 247 BCE. The Parthians were pragmatists who ruled with a relatively light hand in exchange for their subjects' loyalty, and they also grew into a powerful state. They conquered the west and bumped into the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>, leading to a long series of wars between the two rival great powers. The Parthians did well for themselves at first by defeating Marc Antony. However, they lost conflicts against the Roman emperors Trajan and Lucius Verus and saw much of their land devastated by raids and warfare.<sup id="cite_ref-parthia_21-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parthia-21">[21]</a></sup> They also tended to quarrel over who should claim the throne after a powerful ruler died, with one such period lasting thirty years! </p><p>The Parthians fell apart to be replaced by the Sasanian Empire in 224 CE. The Sassanids were native Persians, and they resented the long period of Greek rule. They sought to obliterate the influence of Greek culture, and they repeatedly clashed with the Greek Byzantine Empire.<sup id="cite_ref-sasan_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sasan-22">[22]</a></sup> These long decades of warfare exhausted both empires, resulting in heavier taxation and more rural unrest.<sup id="cite_ref-sasan_22-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sasan-22">[22]</a></sup> That tends to happen in <a href="/wiki/Vietnam_War" title="Vietnam War">forever</a> <a href="/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War">conflicts</a>. This all created the perfect opportunity for an outside force to take over. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_Islamic_era">Early Islamic era</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Early Islamic era">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Hafez_880714_095.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Hafez_880714_095.jpg/275px-Hafez_880714_095.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="193" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Hafez_880714_095.jpg/413px-Hafez_880714_095.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Hafez_880714_095.jpg/550px-Hafez_880714_095.jpg 2x" data-file-width="700" data-file-height="490" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Hafez_880714_095.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Tomb of Hafez, a medieval Persian poet whose works left a considerable impression on later Western writers like Goethe, Thoreau, and Emerson.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[23]</a></sup></div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>These events have been variously seen in Iran: by some as a blessing, the advent of the true faith, the end of the age of ignorance and heathenism; by others as a humiliating national defeat, the conquest and subjugation of the country by foreign invaders. Both perceptions are of course valid, depending on one's angle of vision.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Lewis" class="extiw" title="wp:Bernard Lewis" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Bernard Lewis">Bernard Lewis</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, British-American historian.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24">[24]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>After prophet <a href="/wiki/Muhammad" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a> united Arabia, his successor, the first caliph Abu Bakr, decided to expand on these conquests by beginning simultaneous wars against Byzantium and Persia. By 641 CE, the Arab armies had wholly destroyed the Sassanid military, and the rest of Iran was quelled by 650.<sup id="cite_ref-sunniconq_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sunniconq-25">[25]</a></sup> Although widespread <a href="/wiki/Islamaphobia" class="mw-redirect" title="Islamaphobia">Islamaphobia</a> and modern <a href="/wiki/Terrorism" title="Terrorism">terrorism</a> have shaped the Western view of the early Islamic conquests, the Muslims were actually fairly benevolent rulers. This was by necessity, as they knew they couldn't control territory as large as Iran without the cooperation of the people. Thus, the Muslims respected local religions and cultures.<sup id="cite_ref-sunniconq_25-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sunniconq-25">[25]</a></sup> Although conversion to Islam came with political and monetary benefits, conversion was pretty slow. Political elites converted pretty quickly, but the general peasant population didn't fully embrace the new religion until about the 9th century, about 200 years later.<sup id="cite_ref-sunniconq_25-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sunniconq-25">[25]</a></sup> The Muslim conquerors adopted the Sassanid coinage system and many Sassanid administrative practices, and later caliphs adopted Iranian court ceremonial practices and the trappings of the Sassanid monarchy. Iranian men served in government, and Iranian artists and intellectuals had their works distributed across the Muslim world. </p><p>However, there was still trouble brewing. The Iranians took advantage of the waning power of the caliphs to win greater autonomy. There was also a community of people in southern <a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> who maintained that leadership of Islam following the death of Muhammad rightfully belonged to Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, and to his descendants. These people became called the Shiat Ali, meaning "the partisans of Ali", or the Shias.<sup id="cite_ref-sunniconq_25-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sunniconq-25">[25]</a></sup> They were initially a minority in Iran, but they would gradually grow in power. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Turkish_and_Mongol_invasions">Turkish and Mongol invasions</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Turkish and Mongol invasions">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Iran_-_Yazd_-_Amir_Chakmaq_Complex.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Iran_-_Yazd_-_Amir_Chakmaq_Complex.jpg/330px-Iran_-_Yazd_-_Amir_Chakmaq_Complex.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="172" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Iran_-_Yazd_-_Amir_Chakmaq_Complex.jpg/500px-Iran_-_Yazd_-_Amir_Chakmaq_Complex.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Iran_-_Yazd_-_Amir_Chakmaq_Complex.jpg/960px-Iran_-_Yazd_-_Amir_Chakmaq_Complex.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4000" data-file-height="2500" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Iran_-_Yazd_-_Amir_Chakmaq_Complex.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Timurid palace complex in Yazd.</div></div></div> <p>As the Abbasid Caliphate waned in power, it relied more and more heavily on slave warriors brought in from Turkish areas to the north of Iran.<sup id="cite_ref-sunniconq_25-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sunniconq-25">[25]</a></sup> The Turks became influential as a result, and they formed independent dynasties across Iran as the Abbasid state collapsed. These independent states didn't last too long before they were conquered by the Seljuks, who also adopted Persian culture and conquered themselves much of the Middle East.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26">[26]</a></sup> The Seljuks faced a severe internal threat from the <i>Ḥashashiyan</i>, or the Order of Assassins, a sect of Shia Muslims who spread terror throughout the Middle East by murdering Sunni and Christian rulers.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27">[27]</a></sup> They are the source of the modern English word "assassin". </p><p>The Turkish period came to an end when the Mongols rolled into town and started wrecking shit. The Mongol conquests were exceptionally brutal in Iran, and it's estimated that the wars and destruction killed about 75% of the Persian population, maybe 10 to 15 million people.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">[28]</a></sup> Genghis Khan's empire collapsed as it was divided between his heirs. His grandson Hulagu Khan became the ruler of the Ilkhanate, which encompassed Iran and its surroundings. Although being hit by depopulation and the Black Death, Mongol rule integrated Iran into a continent-spanning trade network that brought in goods from <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> and <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">[29]</a></sup> The Ilkhanate eventually lapsed into many smaller dynasties before they were again conquered by the Muslim Mongol warlord Timur Lenk. The Timurid Empire controlled the region until the mid-1400s before meeting the same fate as the preceding Mongol rulers. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Safavid_Empire">Safavid Empire</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Safavid Empire">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Shah_Abbas_I_and_Vali_Muhammad_Khan.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Shah_Abbas_I_and_Vali_Muhammad_Khan.jpg/300px-Shah_Abbas_I_and_Vali_Muhammad_Khan.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="200" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Shah_Abbas_I_and_Vali_Muhammad_Khan.jpg/450px-Shah_Abbas_I_and_Vali_Muhammad_Khan.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Shah_Abbas_I_and_Vali_Muhammad_Khan.jpg/600px-Shah_Abbas_I_and_Vali_Muhammad_Khan.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2784" data-file-height="1856" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Shah_Abbas_I_and_Vali_Muhammad_Khan.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Shah Abbas the Great and his royal court.</div></div></div> <p>During the collapse of the Timurid Empire, a militant Shia order started to seize land for itself. The leaders of this order were the Safavids, and the head of the dynasty, Ismail, was crowned the first Shah of Persia in 1501.<sup id="cite_ref-safavid_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-safavid-30">[30]</a></sup> He was the first Persian to rule Persia in hundreds of years. Upon taking control of Persia, the Safavid dynasty almost immediately declared Shia Islam the state religion and began the process of mass converting Persians. </p> <div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:227px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Chahar_Bagh_School_Isfahan_01.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Chahar_Bagh_School_Isfahan_01.jpg/250px-Chahar_Bagh_School_Isfahan_01.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="169" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Chahar_Bagh_School_Isfahan_01.jpg/500px-Chahar_Bagh_School_Isfahan_01.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="2993" data-file-height="2245" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Chahar_Bagh_School_Isfahan_01.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Dome of a Safavid theological school.</div></div></div> <p>The Safavids accomplished this conversion by beginning harsh persecution of Sunni Muslims.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31">[31]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-shiacon_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-shiacon-32">[32]</a></sup> Methods of forced conversion included massacres, destruction of Sunni mosques, and confiscation of property.<sup id="cite_ref-shiacon_32-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-shiacon-32">[32]</a></sup> </p><p>The Safavid state was nothing short of an absolute <a href="/wiki/Theocracy" title="Theocracy">theocracy</a>, as you can expect. The Shah claimed both temporal and spiritual authority, and he exercised control of religious affairs through the <i>sadr</i>, who was Iran's lead religious official.<sup id="cite_ref-safavid_30-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-safavid-30">[30]</a></sup> This religious emphasis put the new Persian state at odds with the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and wars between them were continuous. These wars proved to be the cause of the dynasty's later downfall, as military defeats effectively disproved the lie that the Safavid rulers were in any way divine. </p><p>The Safavid dynasty reached its peak during the reign of Shah Abbas I, known as Abbas the Great. Abbas went on a mosque-building spree to show off his personal piety, but he also allowed a gradual <a href="/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state" title="Separation of church and state">separation of religion from state affairs</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-safavid_30-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-safavid-30">[30]</a></sup> His reign saw many military victories against Persia's enemies like the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks. Abbas also led a military campaign that ousted the <a href="/wiki/Portuguese" class="mw-redirect" title="Portuguese">Portuguese</a> from <a href="/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a>, but he invited other Europeans to participate in Persia's vibrant trade network.<sup id="cite_ref-safavid_30-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-safavid-30">[30]</a></sup> He used that wealth to patronize the arts, encourage education, and build a new capital at Isfahan. </p><p>After Abbas I, the Safavid Empire started to decline. It suffered from a succession of weak rulers, high taxation, and lost wars. The Safavid rule ended with an invasion by <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> and then the rise of the short-lived Afsharid dynasty.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33">[33]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Qajar_dynasty_and_the_Constitutional_Revolution">Qajar dynasty and the Constitutional Revolution</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Qajar dynasty and the Constitutional Revolution">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:327px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Parliamenttehran1906.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Parliamenttehran1906.jpg/325px-Parliamenttehran1906.jpg" decoding="async" width="325" height="215" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Parliamenttehran1906.jpg/488px-Parliamenttehran1906.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Parliamenttehran1906.jpg/650px-Parliamenttehran1906.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2088" data-file-height="1383" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Parliamenttehran1906.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Iran's first-ever parliament assembles in 1906.</div></div></div> <p>The Afsharids decided to immediately embark on many costly foreign wars that destabilized their rule and plunged Iran into a civil war between various factions.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34">[34]</a></sup> War, you see, is stupid. Warlord Agha Mohammad Qajar came out on top, declared himself the new Shah, and decided to revive the old tradition of the Shah claiming holy authority.<sup id="cite_ref-qajar_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-qajar-35">[35]</a></sup> That wasn't the state's biggest problem, though. </p><p>The Qajars' biggest problem was that they had come to power at just the wrong time, for they were sandwiched between two huge empires and were in the crosshairs of a third. The Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire both aimed to conquer large tracts of Iranian land, and the <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a> wanted to shore up British <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a>'s western border.<sup id="cite_ref-qajar_35-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-qajar-35">[35]</a></sup> Cue a series of lost wars in which Russia and the Ottomans seized control of the Caucasus while the British landed troops in Iran to control its trade and ensure the Qajars stayed away from Afghanistan. </p><p>The bureaucracy became corrupt and inefficient, and the Qajar shahs knew that something needed to change if Iran would survive into the modern era. In 1896, Mozaffar ad-Din became the new Shah, and the public was pissed off at him because he borrowed money from foreign creditors to prop up his own extravagant lifestyle.<sup id="cite_ref-qajar_35-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-qajar-35">[35]</a></sup> He also let Westerners run roughshod all over his country and people in exchange for bribes. By 1905, a nationwide protest movement developed to curb the Shah's authority and establish the rule of law. After government troops shot a <i>sayyid</i>, a descendant of <a href="/wiki/Muhammad" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a>, protests turned into uncontrollable riots that finally forced the Shah to agree to a constitution in 1906.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36">[36]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Cosacos_Artilleros_de_Terek.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Cosacos_Artilleros_de_Terek.jpg/275px-Cosacos_Artilleros_de_Terek.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="154" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Cosacos_Artilleros_de_Terek.jpg/413px-Cosacos_Artilleros_de_Terek.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Cosacos_Artilleros_de_Terek.jpg/550px-Cosacos_Artilleros_de_Terek.jpg 2x" data-file-width="653" data-file-height="365" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Cosacos_Artilleros_de_Terek.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Russian troops on Iranian soil, 1914.</div></div></div> <p>The new constitution provided, within limits, freedom of the press, speech, and association and security of life and property.<sup id="cite_ref-const_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-const-37">[37]</a></sup> It also limited royal power in favor of an elected parliament and gave the Shah a parliament-appointed cabinet. Unfortunately, Muzaffar finally died right at the moment when that was a bad thing. His successor unleashed a reign of terror in his attempt to rescind the constitution, sparking a quasi-<a href="/wiki/Civil_war" title="Civil war">civil war</a> that ended with his defeat and exile in 1909.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38">[38]</a></sup> </p><p>Even with the old shah gone, Iran was still a stomping ground for foreign powers. That sore point got a lot worse in <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> when Iran became a battleground between the British and Russians and infiltrators from the <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a>, despite being a neutral country.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39">[39]</a></sup> After the war, the German Empire was dismembered, and the Russian Empire got sucked into its own revolution, freeing the way for the British to make Iran into a protectorate in 1919. </p><p>Once in control of Iran, the British decided to do some remodeling. They encouraged a coup in 1921 that swept the Qajar dynasty out of power and swept the Pahlavi dynasty into it.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40">[40]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Pahlavi_dynasty">Pahlavi dynasty</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Pahlavi dynasty">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:POI_palayeshgah_2_Nevit.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/POI_palayeshgah_2_Nevit.jpg/300px-POI_palayeshgah_2_Nevit.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="229" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/POI_palayeshgah_2_Nevit.jpg/450px-POI_palayeshgah_2_Nevit.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/POI_palayeshgah_2_Nevit.jpg/600px-POI_palayeshgah_2_Nevit.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5070" data-file-height="3876" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:POI_palayeshgah_2_Nevit.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Refinery belonging to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.</div></div></div> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Modernization">Modernization</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Modernization">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Reza Khan became the new Shah, and he almost immediately used his now limited powers as shah to modernize Iran. He built up the military and used it to forcibly settle Iran's tribes, and he then set about establishing secular schools and universities.<sup id="cite_ref-rezai_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-rezai-41">[41]</a></sup> The Shah's primary project soon became breaking the religious hierarchy's control over Iran. He ended the clerical monopoly over education, pushed through a secular code of law, created a secular judiciary, and placed state controls on the clergy. However, the Shah had ultimately overruled the parliament's authority in accomplishing this. The Shah decided that he quite liked having absolute power, so he became just another dictator by ordering his cops to beat the shit out of his political opponents and jailing people arbitrarily.<sup id="cite_ref-rezai_41-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-rezai-41">[41]</a></sup> </p><p>He also came to resent British control over much of Iran's economy. Back in 1908, British prospectors discovered a shitload of oil under Iran. They created the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, later called the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, controlled by the British government and didn't share much profit with the Iranians.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42">[42]</a></sup> The Shah unsuccessfully tried to renegotiate the oil agreement and then opened trade with <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> out of spite. Germany was Iran's largest trading partner by <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-rezai_41-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-rezai-41">[41]</a></sup> </p><p>Despite being neutral, Iran was occupied by the British and the Soviets during World War II. They did this to secure Iran's oil fields and ensure that Iran could be used as a secure pathway to route foreign aid to the Soviets.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43">[43]</a></sup> The Allies forced Reza Khan to abdicate for being a <a href="/wiki/Nazi" class="mw-redirect" title="Nazi">Nazi</a> sympathizer during the occupation. He was replaced by his son, Mohammad Reza. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="The_democratic_years">The democratic years</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: The democratic years">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:237px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Internationaal_Hof_zitting_oliekwestie_Perzie_en_Engeland_v.l.n.r._Eve_Beereth_Z,_Bestanddeelnr_905-1530.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Internationaal_Hof_zitting_oliekwestie_Perzie_en_Engeland_v.l.n.r._Eve_Beereth_Z%2C_Bestanddeelnr_905-1530.jpg/250px-Internationaal_Hof_zitting_oliekwestie_Perzie_en_Engeland_v.l.n.r._Eve_Beereth_Z%2C_Bestanddeelnr_905-1530.jpg" decoding="async" width="235" height="211" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Internationaal_Hof_zitting_oliekwestie_Perzie_en_Engeland_v.l.n.r._Eve_Beereth_Z%2C_Bestanddeelnr_905-1530.jpg/500px-Internationaal_Hof_zitting_oliekwestie_Perzie_en_Engeland_v.l.n.r._Eve_Beereth_Z%2C_Bestanddeelnr_905-1530.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="2889" data-file-height="2590" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Internationaal_Hof_zitting_oliekwestie_Perzie_en_Engeland_v.l.n.r._Eve_Beereth_Z,_Bestanddeelnr_905-1530.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Mossadegh defends his nationalization of Iranian oil during the <i><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> v. Iran</i> court dispute.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>In a twist of irony, America, fearing <a href="/wiki/Communism" title="Communism">communism</a>, swung its big old freedom stick and hit the innocent young Persian democracy.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Cody, AlternateHistoryHub.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44">[44]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>From 1949 on, sentiment for the nationalization of Iran's oil industry grew. Iranians knew quite well that the profits from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company were not being distributed equally between the two powers, and they wondered why the British should get almost all of the pie when the oil was under Iranian soil and being drilled by Iranian workers. The 1949 parliamentary elections were centered around oil, and <a href="/wiki/Mohammad_Mossadegh" title="Mohammad Mossadegh">Mohammad Mossadegh</a> became prime minister on the promise to nationalize Iran's oil.<sup id="cite_ref-mossa_45-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mossa-45">[45]</a></sup> </p><p>Negotiations with the British fell through, so the Iranian parliament voted to nationalize the oil in 1951. Oil production came to a virtual standstill as British technicians left the country and the British government embargoed Iran. It froze its assets, and the International Court of Justice agreed to hear the dispute in 1952.<sup id="cite_ref-mossa_45-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mossa-45">[45]</a></sup> By a majority decision, the Court decided that Iran's oil reserves were Iran's business rather than the Court's or UK's, which only makes sense.<sup id="cite_ref-mossa_45-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mossa-45">[45]</a></sup> That should have been the end of things. But it wasn't. </p><p>Riding high on his international legal victory, Mossadegh decided that the British would be barred from having any involvement in Iran's oil industry. That was unacceptable to the British, so they appealed to the <a href="/wiki/Dwight_Eisenhower" class="mw-redirect" title="Dwight Eisenhower">Dwight Eisenhower</a> administration for help while claiming that Mossadegh was opening Iran up to <a href="/wiki/Soviet" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet">Soviet</a> influence. The US predictably got a <a href="/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a> boner. What followed was a disgraceful series of events. In early 1953, <a href="/wiki/CIA" title="CIA">CIA</a> operative Kermit Roosevelt Jr. bribed the Iranian press to circulate anti-Mossadegh propaganda, convinced the Shah that Mossadegh was a leftist radical, and tried to kidnap Mossadegh at his home.<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46">[46]</a></sup> Mossadegh was too smart and managed to avoid all of that, so it was back to the drawing board. The CIA met up with General Fazlollah Zahedi, a Shah loyalist. They cooperated to instigate a series of "communist" riots, which gave Zahedi the pretext he needed to take over the government.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47">[47]</a></sup> He placed Mossadegh under arrest and invited the Shah to become Iran's absolute monarch. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Absolute_monarchy">Absolute monarchy</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Absolute monarchy">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:237px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Mohammad_Pahlavi_Coronation_(cropped_version).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Mohammad_Pahlavi_Coronation_%28cropped_version%29.jpg/235px-Mohammad_Pahlavi_Coronation_%28cropped_version%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="235" height="185" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Mohammad_Pahlavi_Coronation_%28cropped_version%29.jpg/353px-Mohammad_Pahlavi_Coronation_%28cropped_version%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Mohammad_Pahlavi_Coronation_%28cropped_version%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="417" data-file-height="328" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Mohammad_Pahlavi_Coronation_(cropped_version).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The Shah and family on coronation day in 1967.</div></div></div> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Mohammad_Reza_Pahlavi" title="Mohammad Reza Pahlavi">Mohammad Reza Pahlavi</a></div> <p>The Shah's new regime was a staunch Western ally, and he immediately received a US aid package to the tune of $45 million.<sup id="cite_ref-whiterev_48-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-whiterev-48">[48]</a></sup> He also invited the British back into the country to help run Iran's oil industry. Hooray for economic <a href="/wiki/Imperialism" title="Imperialism">imperialism</a>! Iran was under martial law during this period, and parliament was often dissolved. </p><p>In 1963, the Shah launched a series of reforms called the "White Revolution". He redistributed land to the poor, increased investment into education, and gave women the right to vote. However, the program created high expectations that fell disappointingly short. Most rural families didn't get land, and those who did got barely enough to do anything with.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49">[49]</a></sup> The Shah responded to this by making criticism of himself or the White Revolution a crime, which didn't make people any happier. </p> <div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:152px;"><a href="/wiki/File:SAVAK.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/SAVAK.svg/150px-SAVAK.svg.png" decoding="async" width="150" height="191" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/SAVAK.svg/225px-SAVAK.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/SAVAK.svg/300px-SAVAK.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="419" data-file-height="534" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:SAVAK.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Seal of SAVAK, the Shah's secret police.</div></div></div> <p>Like the earlier Qajar shahs, Pahlavi believed himself divine and lived a lavish lifestyle. His playboy antics pissed off the poor and invited criticism from religious authorities.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50">[50]</a></sup> One of his harshest critics was <a href="/wiki/Ayatollah_Khomeini" class="mw-redirect" title="Ayatollah Khomeini">Ayatollah Khomeini</a>, who railed against the Shah being a lapdog for the West and ranted about the Shah's decadent living. The Shah arrested and sent Khomeini into exile, effectively making the man a figurehead for the opposition. This would have terrible consequences. </p><p>The Shah was thoroughly unable to deal with these problems because he was an idiot. The US Embassy in Tehran noted from the very beginning of his reign as absolute monarch that he had a tendency to meddle in affairs that he knew nothing about, and he also had a perpetual inability to make decisions under pressure.<sup id="cite_ref-savak_51-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-savak-51">[51]</a></sup> He was effectively the guy who butts in to stop people from being productive just so he can flatter himself and say nothing of substance. </p><p>Despite Western attempts to legitimize his reign, the Shah was a typical Middle Eastern dictator who ruled with brutality and incompetence. He had a <a href="/wiki/Secret_police" title="Secret police">secret police</a> unit called the SAVAK (<i>Sāzemān-e Ettelā'āt va Amniyat-e Keshvar</i>, meaning "National Organization for Security and Intelligence") which arrested, disappeared, and <a href="/wiki/Torture" title="Torture">tortured</a> thousands of people.<sup id="cite_ref-savak_51-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-savak-51">[51]</a></sup> In 1976, Amnesty International published a range (citing foreign journalists and Iranian exile groups) of between 25,000 and 100,000 detainees held throughout the country in various prisons run by SAVAK. Torture methods detailed by surviving political prisoners include beatings, rape, electric shocks, and ripping out teeth and fingernails. Other more extreme methods included cooking prisoners alive on a heated metal table or forcing a hot metal rod through the face, burning the prisoner's entire mouth.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52">[52]</a></sup> Holy shit. Many Iranian people feared and hated SAVAK and regarded it as a cruel organization. </p><p>People got even angrier in 1975 when an economic recession hit and caused many to lose their jobs and homes.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53">[53]</a></sup> All of that went down while the Shah partied in his palace by day and fucked prostitutes by night. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Iranian_Revolution">Iranian Revolution</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Iranian Revolution">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:JalehSquare2.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/JalehSquare2.jpg/300px-JalehSquare2.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="200" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/JalehSquare2.jpg/450px-JalehSquare2.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/JalehSquare2.jpg/600px-JalehSquare2.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1294" data-file-height="861" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:JalehSquare2.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The Shah's Secret Police gun down protesters in Jaleh Square.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>The Islamic Republic is not about <a href="/wiki/Fun" class="mw-redirect" title="Fun">fun</a>, it is about <a href="/wiki/Morality" title="Morality">morality</a>. There is no fun to be had in the Islamic Republic of Iran.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Khomeini<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54">[54]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Under the Shah's cruel and frivolous reign, something was bound to break. In 1977, mass protests and riots rocked the nation, organized by a strange alliance of secular liberals and hardline Islamists.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55">[55]</a></sup> Matters reached a critical point in mid-1978 when some unknown group burned down a movie theatre with about 420 people inside it.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56">[56]</a></sup> The Shah blamed the protesters, and the protesters were convinced that the Shah's secret police were responsible.<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57">[57]</a></sup> </p><p>As protests paralyzed Iran, the Shah declared martial law. Despite that, a vast crowd assembled in Tehran's Jaleh Square to celebrate Eid-e-Fitr, the end of Ramadan.<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58">[58]</a></sup> Government military police responded with extreme violence, firing on the protesters with live ammunition. Between 400 and 900 people died, and 4,000 were injured.<sup id="cite_ref-irarev_59-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-irarev-59">[59]</a></sup> Whatever loyalty the Shah might have had from the Iranian people was shattered instantly. The Shah realized that he fucked up badly, so he ordered his military forces not to interfere with protests. Martial law was no longer enforced, and a general strike shut down the oil industry.<sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60">[60]</a></sup> </p><p>Those strikes destroyed Iran's economy and severed the Shah's last lifeline, as, without oil money, his state had no power at all. The Shah fled to the United States, Khomeini returned from exile, and a series of referendums in 1979 transformed Iran into a theocratic republic under Khomeini's leadership.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61">[61]</a></sup> </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Hostage_crisis">Hostage crisis</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Hostage crisis">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Iran_hostage_crisis_-_November_1979.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Iran_hostage_crisis_-_November_1979.jpg/275px-Iran_hostage_crisis_-_November_1979.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="212" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Iran_hostage_crisis_-_November_1979.jpg/413px-Iran_hostage_crisis_-_November_1979.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Iran_hostage_crisis_-_November_1979.jpg/550px-Iran_hostage_crisis_-_November_1979.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2105" data-file-height="1626" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Iran_hostage_crisis_-_November_1979.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Iranian students tear down the US Embassy flag.</div></div></div> <p>The US really pissed off the new Iranian regime by allowing the Shah to seek protection on American soil. Khomeini demanded that the Shah be returned to face trial, and the US refused, probably and justifiably fearing that the Islamic regime would just execute him. Meanwhile, it became clear that Khomeini's control over his most radical young student followers was tenuous at best. Those student radicals are the ones who organized themselves and launched a rapid takeover of the United States Embassy in Tehran, taking 69 hostages.<sup id="cite_ref-hostagei_62-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hostagei-62">[62]</a></sup> After the fact, Ayatollah Khomeini voiced his support for the takeover, calling it a "second revolution," and demonstrations in support of the action took place around Iran.<sup id="cite_ref-hostagei_62-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hostagei-62">[62]</a></sup> Khomeini had initially opposed the violent action but within a day came around to the idea that the embassy takeover was a brilliant tactic to unite the Iranian people and intimidate foreign adversaries.<sup id="cite_ref-hostagei_62-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hostagei-62">[62]</a></sup> </p><p>Initially, the students had intended to occupy the Embassy for only a few days, but this outpouring of national support made it clear that matters had gone out of control. The students released 13 hostages, the women and African-Americans, and they prepared the rest for the long haul.<sup id="cite_ref-hostagei_62-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hostagei-62">[62]</a></sup> President <a href="/wiki/Jimmy_Carter" title="Jimmy Carter">Jimmy Carter</a> broke off relations with Iran and froze the nation's assets. He also launched a rescue attempt called Operation Eagle Claw that failed miserably due to equipment malfunctions and bad weather; 8 US servicemen died, and Khomeini got to call it divine intervention.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63">[63]</a></sup> This tragic humiliation was probably one of the main causes of Jimmy Carter's election loss. </p><p>In 1980, Iran finally came to the negotiating table, as the Shah had died from cancer and <a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> was making war threats. In exchange for some promises by the US not to interfere in Iranian affairs, Iran released the hostages. Iran waited until Carter was just out of the office to let them all go, just as one final "fuck you" to the president they blamed for supporting the Shah. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Iran-Iraq_War">Iran-Iraq War</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Iran-Iraq War">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Persian_Green_berets_10.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Persian_Green_berets_10.jpg/300px-Persian_Green_berets_10.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="194" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Persian_Green_berets_10.jpg/450px-Persian_Green_berets_10.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Persian_Green_berets_10.jpg/600px-Persian_Green_berets_10.jpg 2x" data-file-width="960" data-file-height="621" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Persian_Green_berets_10.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Iranian commandos during the 1980 Battle of Khorramshahr.</div></div></div> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Iran-Iraq_War" title="Iran-Iraq War">Iran-Iraq War</a></div> <p>Meanwhile, in Iran's neighbor Iraq, Saddam Hussein had been a longtime enemy of the Shah and was quite happy to see him go. Khomeini, however, knew that Iraq had a significant Shia minority and was eager to turn Iraq into another theocracy allied with Iran. To this end, he encouraged Iraq's Shiite minority to launch a revolt against Saddam's rule, and he frequently instigated violent border clashes between the two nations.<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64">[64]</a></sup> Khomeini also called for a Shia revolution in Iraq, which scared the shit out of Hussein's government since Hussein really was treating the Shiites like shit.<sup id="cite_ref-preludeiniq_65-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-preludeiniq-65">[65]</a></sup> </p><p>Hussein also had ambitions of making himself into a rich regional power. He now hoped to do this by annexing Iran's oil-rich region of Khuzestan directly across the border.<sup id="cite_ref-66" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-66">[66]</a></sup> Iraq thus launched an all-out invasion of Iran, and they were soon supported by various Sunni Arab states. The United States under <a href="/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" title="Ronald Reagan">Ronald Reagan</a> also pitched in for the team by sending Saddam raw materials to help him construct <a href="/wiki/WMD" class="mw-redirect" title="WMD">chemical weapons</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67">[67]</a></sup> </p><p>The war ended in 1988 with a costly and bloody stalemate that resulted in no border changes. Iran, though, decisively came out on top. Rather than leading to a collapse of the Khomeini regime like Saddam had hoped, the war actually helped strengthen Iran's fledgling Islamic Republic. Even cultural, ethnic, and religious minorities rallied behind the government to protect it from Hussein's attack.<sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-68">[68]</a></sup> During the war, Iran also reformed its military into a capable fighting force and helped it turn the Revolutionary Guard Corps into the powerful and radical organization it is today.<sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-69">[69]</a></sup> Iranian military deaths are estimated to be around 160,000, and civilian casualties around 16,000.<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-70">[70]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Iran_today">Iran today</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Iran today">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Gathering_and_protest_rally_outside_Amir_Kabir_University_2020-01-11_03.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Gathering_and_protest_rally_outside_Amir_Kabir_University_2020-01-11_03.jpg/300px-Gathering_and_protest_rally_outside_Amir_Kabir_University_2020-01-11_03.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="170" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Gathering_and_protest_rally_outside_Amir_Kabir_University_2020-01-11_03.jpg/450px-Gathering_and_protest_rally_outside_Amir_Kabir_University_2020-01-11_03.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Gathering_and_protest_rally_outside_Amir_Kabir_University_2020-01-11_03.jpg/600px-Gathering_and_protest_rally_outside_Amir_Kabir_University_2020-01-11_03.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="566" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Gathering_and_protest_rally_outside_Amir_Kabir_University_2020-01-11_03.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Student protest in Tehran, January 2020.</div></div></div> <p>Even with the resurgence of national unity after the war, Khomeini still apparently figured that he needed to do some housecleaning. In 1988, barely after the war finished killing tens of thousands of people, Iran's Supreme Leader issued a <i>fatwa</i> calling for the murder of tens of thousands more. According to secret documents smuggled out of Iran, Khomeini emptied Iran's prisons of political dissidents by simply executing them en-masse. The two-month purge saw 30,000 people executed by hanging from cranes, including children as young as 13.<sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-71">[71]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-72">[72]</a></sup> Shortly after, Khomeini died of poor health, to be succeeded as Supreme Leader by the equally hardline <a href="/wiki/Ali_Khamenei" title="Ali Khamenei">Ali Khamenei</a>. </p><p>After that, Iran sat around for a while, supporting terrorist groups against Israel and undergoing a brief but aborted attempt at liberalization. In 2005, Iran made international headlines again by voting for the deranged extremist <a href="/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad" title="Mahmoud Ahmadinejad">Mahmoud Ahmadinejad</a> as president. He immediately started freaking people out by pushing forward with Iran's young nuclear program.<sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-73">[73]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:227px;"><a href="/wiki/File:American_diplomatic_team_and_Iranian_diplomatic_team_sit_together_-_16_January_2016.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/American_diplomatic_team_and_Iranian_diplomatic_team_sit_together_-_16_January_2016.jpg/225px-American_diplomatic_team_and_Iranian_diplomatic_team_sit_together_-_16_January_2016.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="150" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/American_diplomatic_team_and_Iranian_diplomatic_team_sit_together_-_16_January_2016.jpg/338px-American_diplomatic_team_and_Iranian_diplomatic_team_sit_together_-_16_January_2016.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/American_diplomatic_team_and_Iranian_diplomatic_team_sit_together_-_16_January_2016.jpg/450px-American_diplomatic_team_and_Iranian_diplomatic_team_sit_together_-_16_January_2016.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4748" data-file-height="3165" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:American_diplomatic_team_and_Iranian_diplomatic_team_sit_together_-_16_January_2016.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Iranian and US diplomats negotiate the nuclear deal.</div></div></div> <p>Ahmadinejad also managed to further demolish Iran's image in the eyes of the world with his <a href="/wiki/Antisemitism" title="Antisemitism">antisemitism</a> and brinksmanship. In 2006, his government looked on cheerfully while a <a href="/wiki/Holocaust_denial" title="Holocaust denial">Holocaust denial</a>-themed national cartoon contest went on in Tehran.<sup id="cite_ref-74" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-74">[74]</a></sup> Ahmedinejad's repeated rants against <a href="/wiki/Jews" class="mw-redirect" title="Jews">Jews</a> drew international condemnation. One of his harshest critics was <a href="/wiki/Fidel_Castro" title="Fidel Castro">Fidel Castro</a>, who put the Iranian leader on blast for slandering the Jews while still making it clear that <a href="/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba">Cuba</a> was still no friend of the US or Israel.<sup id="cite_ref-75" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-75">[75]</a></sup> </p><p>The 2009 Iranian election was heavily disputed, and a mass protest called the Iranian Green Movement called for Ahmadinejad's removal as president.<sup id="cite_ref-76" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-76">[76]</a></sup> </p><p>The current president is Hassan Rouhani, who won the 2013 presidential elections by portraying himself as a moderate.<sup id="cite_ref-77" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-77">[77]</a></sup> Rouhani agreed to the 2015 nuclear deal with US President <a href="/wiki/Obama" class="mw-redirect" title="Obama">Obama</a> to limit Iran's ability to refine weapons-grade nuclear material.<sup id="cite_ref-78" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-78">[78]</a></sup> Relations between Iran and the United States worsened after the US elected <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a>, who unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and assassinated Iranian General <a href="/wiki/Qasem_Soleimani" title="Qasem Soleimani">Qasem Soleimani</a>. </p><p>Iran's economy still suffers from sanctions, and the Iranian people seem tired of the constant stand-offs with other countries. The 2019–2020 Iranian protests started over fuel price rises and rationing due to the sanctions and turned violent when the government murdered about 1,000 people. They were the most severe instance of unrest in Iran since the revolution and, unlike previous protests, spread beyond the urban middle class into rural areas and the poor. Eventually, they were brought under control by state violence and financial assistance to the poor.<sup id="cite_ref-79" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-79">[79]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-80" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-80">[80]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-81" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-81">[81]</a></sup> </p><p>There is also continuing tension with the US and Israel: the US assassinated senior military figure Qassem Soleimani by a drone strike in January 2020, while Israel assassinated Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November. Iraq also shot down a Ukrainian airliner by mistake in January 2020, fearing another American attack, but killing 176 people.<sup id="cite_ref-82" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-82">[82]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-83" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-83">[83]</a></sup> Joe Biden had suggested more conciliatory policies towards Iran but soon after taking office, launched an airstrike on Iranian-backed militias in Syria.<sup id="cite_ref-84" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-84">[84]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Changing_demographics">Changing demographics</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Changing demographics">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>One important factor in the protests of Iran has been the reported decline of Islam amongst the populace, mostly among Iranian youth with veneration for western culture and values and access to the internet. Many of these citizens (especially women) saw the death of Mahsa Amini as the last straw (from historical wrongs done against Iranians, particularly against women and ethnic minorities by Islam, Muslims, and the Islamic regime). In fact, the statistics reported such historic lows that Iran is no longer an Islamic country, being such in name only.<sup id="cite_ref-85" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-85">[85]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-86" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-86">[86]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-87" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-87">[87]</a></sup> </p><p>Because of disinterest in Islamic hegemony, hatred towards Islam due to historical oppression by Muslims against non-Muslims both historically and currently, and the vast majority of Iranians being irreligious anyway, this vacuum has allowed other faiths to spread (Christianity and pagan religions like Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Iran and the Iranian peoples), and even lack of faith such as atheism. The Islamic regime has responded to this by sending out Muslim missionaries to convince Iranians to remain in Islam, which they claim through “peaceful means”. This is untrue, due to evidence that the regime has been using violence and clamping down on the opposition to remain in power. In addition, sending out missionaries will only worsen the critical situation of Islam’s decline in Iran. The view of Islam’s steady but fast decline in the country is treated not unlike <a href="/wiki/White_genocide" title="White genocide">the slow decline of the white American population in the United States</a> by <a href="/wiki/Trumpist" class="mw-redirect" title="Trumpist">Trumpists</a>, a supposed decline and fall of civilization that must be stopped or avenged. However, while white Americans are not declining to the point of becoming a minority and systematically erased, Iranian Muslims have declined massively in number compared to other religions (for obvious reasons stated prior).<sup id="cite_ref-88" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-88">[88]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-89" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-89">[89]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Government">Government</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Government">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:317px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Ali_Khamenei_met_with_Hajj_authorities_2018_09.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Ali_Khamenei_met_with_Hajj_authorities_2018_09.jpg/330px-Ali_Khamenei_met_with_Hajj_authorities_2018_09.jpg" decoding="async" width="315" height="210" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Ali_Khamenei_met_with_Hajj_authorities_2018_09.jpg/500px-Ali_Khamenei_met_with_Hajj_authorities_2018_09.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Ali_Khamenei_met_with_Hajj_authorities_2018_09.jpg/960px-Ali_Khamenei_met_with_Hajj_authorities_2018_09.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2500" data-file-height="1666" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Ali_Khamenei_met_with_Hajj_authorities_2018_09.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Khamenei prays with religious authorities.</div></div></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Supreme_Leader">Supreme Leader</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Supreme Leader">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>The Supreme Leader of Iran is where the country's true power lies. It was initially filled by <a href="/wiki/Ayatollah_Khomeini" class="mw-redirect" title="Ayatollah Khomeini">Ayatollah Khomeini</a>, the father of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. He appoints the head of Iran's judiciary, most of the Guardian Council, is the commander-in-chief, and hosts Friday prayers on radio and television.<sup id="cite_ref-90" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-90">[90]</a></sup> He also has to approve the president's election, meaning that he can veto all of the people of Iran. Since he controls the military and most of the government, the Supreme Leader alone can declare war or peace. </p><p>According to Iran's Constitution, the Supreme Leader is responsible for delineating and supervising "the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran," which means that he sets the tone and direction of Iran's domestic and foreign policies.<sup id="cite_ref-gov_91-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gov-91">[91]</a></sup> Also under the Supreme Leader's control are the "foundations", or <i>bonyads</i>. These are state-run corporate alliances that control about 40% of Iran's economy and most of the country's core industries.<sup id="cite_ref-gov_91-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gov-91">[91]</a></sup> Should the Supreme Leader die or be dismissed, a "Provisional Leadership Council" is mandated to carry out the responsibilities of the supreme leader. The PLC would then be made up of the incumbent President, the incumbent Chief Justice, and one of the clerics of the Guardian Council, who is selected by the Expediency Discernment Council, an advisory assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader to settle disputes between the Guardian Council and the Majlis. </p> <div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Members_of_the_Fourth_Term_of_the_Council_of_Experts.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Members_of_the_Fourth_Term_of_the_Council_of_Experts.jpg/250px-Members_of_the_Fourth_Term_of_the_Council_of_Experts.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="174" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Members_of_the_Fourth_Term_of_the_Council_of_Experts.jpg/500px-Members_of_the_Fourth_Term_of_the_Council_of_Experts.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="557" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Members_of_the_Fourth_Term_of_the_Council_of_Experts.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Class photo of the Assembly of Experts, 2006. Geriatric men ruling the daily lives of the country's of women and girls, "likeminded hardliners whose main source of diversity is whether their beards and turbans are black or white"<sup id="cite_ref-92" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-92">[92]</a></sup></div></div></div> <p>The Supreme Leader is appointed by the Assembly of Experts, a body of Iran's highest religious authorities who make sure to appoint a religious fanatic like them to the country's highest office.<sup id="cite_ref-93" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-93">[93]</a></sup> Only Shia Islamic clergy can be members of the Assembly, and they are officially endowed with the right to dismiss the Supreme Leader, but they predictably never have. All candidates for the Assembly must have their candidacy approved by the Guardian Council, where 50% of its members are appointed unilaterally by the Supreme Leader, and the other half is subject to confirmation by the Majlis after being appointed by the head of the Iranian judiciary, who is himself appointed by the Supreme Leader. </p><p>The current Supreme Leader is <a href="/wiki/Ali_Khamenei" title="Ali Khamenei">Ali Khamenei</a>, president from 1981 through 1989. He has ruled the country for over three decades, most of the Islamic Republic's existence, but talk of his ailing health, impending death, and potential successors is verboten and straight-up illegal; many have gotten arrested for discussing such things even in private.<sup id="cite_ref-94" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-94">[94]</a></sup> There have only been two Supreme Leaders: Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, and Khamenei, who has led the country since. </p><p>There used to be a Deputy Supreme Leader under Khomeini, Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri, Khomeini's designated successor. However, the two had a falling out in 1989 due to Montazeri criticizing Khomeini's policies which Montazeri felt infringed on people's rights and freedoms.<sup id="cite_ref-95" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-95">[95]</a></sup> Ayatollah Montazeri was placed under house arrest by Khamenei for criticizing Khamenei's policies. Still, he was allowed to speak his mind when it came to his disagreements with the regime, thereby serving as a focal critic and unofficial leader of the opposition to the Islamic Republic till his death of old age.<sup id="cite_ref-96" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-96">[96]</a></sup> While he was a firm believer in an Islamic state, Ayatollah Montazeri argued in favor of Baháʼí rights, civil rights, women's rights, and democratic rights and freedoms. He felt Iran was not an Islamic state because it was not respecting people's rights. One wonders how Iran would have been had Ayatollah Montazeri taken over instead of Khamenei. Predictably, Khamenei has not elevated anyone to be his deputy, which is why talk of his succession is so unpredictable. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="President">President</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: President">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Hassan_Rouhani_press_conference_after_his_election_as_president_14.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Hassan_Rouhani_press_conference_after_his_election_as_president_14.jpg/300px-Hassan_Rouhani_press_conference_after_his_election_as_president_14.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="181" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Hassan_Rouhani_press_conference_after_his_election_as_president_14.jpg/450px-Hassan_Rouhani_press_conference_after_his_election_as_president_14.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Hassan_Rouhani_press_conference_after_his_election_as_president_14.jpg/600px-Hassan_Rouhani_press_conference_after_his_election_as_president_14.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="482" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Hassan_Rouhani_press_conference_after_his_election_as_president_14.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Rouhani celebrates his 2013 election victory.</div></div></div> <p>The president is the second-highest-ranking official in Iran. He's high profile internationally, but he doesn't do a lot since the constitution limits his powers and officially subordinates him to the Supreme Leader.<sup id="cite_ref-gov_91-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gov-91">[91]</a></sup> The president does not have the power to veto and cannot dismiss or reinstate cabinet ministers; only the Supreme Leader can. The president does not have the authority to make foreign policy decisions by himself, although the Supreme Leader often lets him.<sup id="cite_ref-97" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-97">[97]</a></sup> The president is directly elected, but he can be dismissed for any reason by the Supreme Leader. Surprisingly, this had not happened yet, even when Iranians chose reformist presidents. This exemplifies Iran's bizarre political system and culture. </p><p>While the President is merely the head of government for Iran, they are still the highest popularly elected official. The cabinet does follow the president's lead as you would expect a functioning procedural democracy to operate. The president is generally the forger of foreign policy instead of the supreme leader, which is why multiple presidents were moderates or reformists who tried to engage with the West. But it wasn't until the destruction of the reform movement in the mid-2000s that the presidency truly became a power in itself. Beyond political appointments, the constitution also grants the president responsibility for "national planning, and budget and state employment affairs." From 1981 through 2017, every incumbent president had been reelected: <a href="/wiki/Ali_Khamenei" title="Ali Khamenei">Ali Khamenei</a> (1981-1989), Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1997), Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), <a href="/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad" title="Mahmoud Ahmadinejad">Mahmoud Ahmadinejad</a> (2005-2013), and Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021). This streak ended in 2024 when <a href="/wiki/Ebrahim_Raisi" title="Ebrahim Raisi">Ebrahim Raisi</a> was killed in an accidental helicopter crash; he was replaced by Masoud Pezeshkian, another moderate in a similar mold as Rouhani. </p> <h3><span id="Prime_Minister_(1906–1989)"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Prime_Minister_.281906.E2.80.931989.29">Prime Minister (1906–1989)</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Prime Minister (1906–1989)">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>For a time, Iran used to have <i>both</i> a president and a prime minister because the prime minister was a holdover office from the Shah's years which briefly survived into the Islamic Republic. Mehdi Bazargan, the 46th prime minister of Iran, was the first prime minister of the Islamic Republic as he was appointed right after the Islamic Revolution. This meant Iran had <i>two</i> heads of government with a left-leaning parliament, forcing Khomeini to compromise with liberals and democracy supporters. This was meant to divide the executive and prevent a counter-coup against the revolution. But the prime minister only lasted ten years into the Islamic Republic. Bazargan, who hoped for liberal democracy and accommodation with the West, resigned during the hostage crisis as a protest against the hostage-taking and acknowledging of his government's failure to release the American diplomats.<sup id="cite_ref-98" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-98">[98]</a></sup> Bazargan would remain in parliament as a prominent critic of the regime, penning a letter to the Speaker of the Majlis saying the Islamic Republic "has created an atmosphere of terror, fear, revenge and national disintegration."<sup id="cite_ref-99" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-99">[99]</a></sup> </p><p>Iran's most famous prime minister was Mohammad Mossadegh, during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty, all the way back in the 1950s, almost thirty years before the Islamic Republic. At this time, the British owned the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, so all the money from oil production went to wealthy white men half a planet away, even though it was Iranian oil from Iranian workers. Elected on a promise to nationalize oil, Mossadegh did exactly that and was overthrown in a coup by the British under <a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> and the Americans under <a href="/wiki/Dwight_Eisenhower" class="mw-redirect" title="Dwight Eisenhower">Dwight Eisenhower</a>, with the <a href="/wiki/CIA" title="CIA">CIA</a> spearheading the push. His overthrow forever changed the course of Iran, as the Shah was installed as an absolute monarch who would later be overthrown by the Ayatollah, leading to modern-day Iran. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Guardian_Council">Guardian Council</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Guardian Council">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>These guys are why Iran's reformists can't get any lasting change for the country. The Guardian Council has twelve members, and six are appointed by the Supreme Leader.<sup id="cite_ref-gov_91-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gov-91">[91]</a></sup> The Guardian Council puts the "Islamic" into the "Islamic Republic." It interprets the constitution to determine if parliament's laws align with sharia law.<sup id="cite_ref-gov_91-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gov-91">[91]</a></sup> It also does background checks on presidential and parliamentary candidates to make sure that they are loyal Shia Muslims who will uphold shariah. Sorry, Iranian voters, but you don't really get a choice in your elections. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Islamic_Consultative_Assembly">Islamic Consultative Assembly</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Islamic Consultative Assembly">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Iranian_Majlis.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Iranian_Majlis.jpg/275px-Iranian_Majlis.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="178" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Iranian_Majlis.jpg/413px-Iranian_Majlis.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Iranian_Majlis.jpg/550px-Iranian_Majlis.jpg 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="583" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Iranian_Majlis.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Iran's parliament chamber.</div></div></div> <p>Iran's parliament, officially called the "Islamic Consultative Assembly", is a unicameral body of 290 representatives who serve four-year terms.<sup id="cite_ref-100" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-100">[100]</a></sup> The parliament can pass laws, but those laws have to be vetted by the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader. The parliament's lack of power was demonstrated quite effectively in 2000 when liberal reformists won a majority. Their attempts at liberalization were nullified by the Council, and the reformists were later barred from running for reelection.<sup id="cite_ref-101" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-101">[101]</a></sup> </p><p>The parliament is also currently barred by the Supreme Leader from having any say in foreign policy or Iran's nuclear policy.<sup id="cite_ref-102" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-102">[102]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Revolutionary_Guard_Corps">Revolutionary Guard Corps</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Revolutionary Guard Corps">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>The Revolutionary Guard Corps is distinct from the rest of the Iranian military. Despite having less manpower than the military, the IRGC is responsible for patrolling Iran's waters, overseeing its missiles, and supporting terrorist groups abroad.<sup id="cite_ref-103" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-103">[103]</a></sup> The force answers only to the Supreme Leader. The infamous and secretive Quds Force is part of the IRGC, and it currently has relations with armed militant groups in places like <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lebanon" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a>, <a href="/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syria</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Palestine" title="Palestine">Palestine</a>. The Quds Force was blamed for both the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut and the attack on barracks housing American and French service members, which claimed the lives of 307 people.<sup id="cite_ref-104" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-104">[104]</a></sup> The Quds Force was one of the most effective armed groups resisting <a href="/wiki/DAESH" title="DAESH">DAESH</a> expansion. Its leader <a href="/wiki/Qasem_Soleimani" title="Qasem Soleimani">Qasem Soleimani</a> was assassinated by the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> at the order of <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a>. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Foreign_relations">Foreign relations</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Foreign relations">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:327px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Demonstrations_and_protests_against_United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_in_Tehran_032.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Demonstrations_and_protests_against_United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_in_Tehran_032.jpg/325px-Demonstrations_and_protests_against_United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_in_Tehran_032.jpg" decoding="async" width="325" height="234" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Demonstrations_and_protests_against_United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_in_Tehran_032.jpg/488px-Demonstrations_and_protests_against_United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_in_Tehran_032.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Demonstrations_and_protests_against_United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_in_Tehran_032.jpg/650px-Demonstrations_and_protests_against_United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_in_Tehran_032.jpg 2x" data-file-width="745" data-file-height="537" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Demonstrations_and_protests_against_United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_in_Tehran_032.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Demonstrations and protests against United States recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Tehran.</div></div></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="United_States">United States</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: United States">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>The US and Iran haven't had official diplomatic relations since 1980, which isn't surprising since Iran violated diplomatic immunity with that whole embassy fiasco. At first, the 1979 Revolution really wasn't an anti-American revolution, since it targeted the Shah. However, the Iranian people couldn't help but notice that the Shah was a close friend/puppet of the US.<sup id="cite_ref-usrel_105-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-usrel-105">[105]</a></sup> The Jimmy Carter administration also made some foolish diplomatic missteps during this time. Carter invited the Shah to the US to express American support for him, and he rarely criticized the Shah's bad habit of having people murdered and tortured.<sup id="cite_ref-usrel_105-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-usrel-105">[105]</a></sup> Finally, Carter invited the Shah to the US for cancer treatment and to avoid arrest by the new Iranian authorities. None of that sat well with the Iranians. </p><p>After the severing of relations, the US has adopted a strategy of containment towards Iran by diplomatically aligning with Iran's adversarial neighbors and stationing US troops and bases on their soil.<sup id="cite_ref-usbases_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-usbases-2">[2]</a></sup> Hence the infamous map of the <a href="/wiki/Sarcasm" class="mw-redirect" title="Sarcasm">poor innocent Iranian state</a> surrounded by US bases. The US also shot down an Iranian civilian aircraft in 1988, and <a href="/wiki/George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a> referred to Iran as part of the new "<a href="/wiki/Axis_of_Evil" title="Axis of Evil">Axis of Evil</a>" in 2002.<sup id="cite_ref-106" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-106">[106]</a></sup> </p><p>The US has maintained economic and military sanctions against Iran since the revolution.<sup id="cite_ref-107" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-107">[107]</a></sup> Sanctions were lifted briefly after the nuclear deal but were reimposed by the Trump administration. Trump's strategy was one of "maximum pressure", hoping that the Iranians would capitulate. Unfortunately, the Iranians will never do that because they would rather face any consequence than return to the days of Western control and domination of their country.<sup id="cite_ref-usrel_105-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-usrel-105">[105]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Israel">Israel</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Israel">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Iran officially doesn't recognize Israel as a legitimate state, and Israel has turned into one of Iran's archnemeses on the global stage. Iran supplies weapons and goods to <a href="/wiki/Hamas" title="Hamas">Hamas</a>, a terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.<sup id="cite_ref-108" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-108">[108]</a></sup> Iran also supports Hezbollah in the same manner in Lebanon along Israel's northern border. Iran currently recognizes <a href="/wiki/Jerusalem" title="Jerusalem">Jerusalem</a> as Palestine's capital, in direct opposition to the US recognition of the city as Israel's capital.<sup id="cite_ref-109" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-109">[109]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi,_King_Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia,_Melania_Trump,_and_Donald_Trump,_May_2017.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi%2C_King_Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia%2C_Melania_Trump%2C_and_Donald_Trump%2C_May_2017.jpg/275px-Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi%2C_King_Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia%2C_Melania_Trump%2C_and_Donald_Trump%2C_May_2017.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="183" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi%2C_King_Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia%2C_Melania_Trump%2C_and_Donald_Trump%2C_May_2017.jpg/413px-Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi%2C_King_Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia%2C_Melania_Trump%2C_and_Donald_Trump%2C_May_2017.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi%2C_King_Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia%2C_Melania_Trump%2C_and_Donald_Trump%2C_May_2017.jpg/550px-Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi%2C_King_Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia%2C_Melania_Trump%2C_and_Donald_Trump%2C_May_2017.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="800" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi,_King_Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia,_Melania_Trump,_and_Donald_Trump,_May_2017.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The "Fuck Iran" Club, featuring the three wealthiest right-wing authoritarians (Trump, King Salman, and Egyptian President Sisi) groping a glowing orb.</div></div></div> <p>For its part, Israel has adopted a strategy of deterrence that has manifested as extreme aggression. Israel has taken inflammatory measures like striking Iranian targets with rockets and threatening to attack Iran if it develops a nuclear device.<sup id="cite_ref-110" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-110">[110]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-111" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-111">[111]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Saudi_Arabia">Saudi Arabia</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Saudi Arabia">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Even more so than Israel, Saudi Arabia is Iran's archnemesis in the Middle East. Much of the conflict is religious, as a Sunni theocracy and a Shia theocracy were never destined to get along very well.<sup id="cite_ref-colwar_112-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-colwar-112">[112]</a></sup> Iran hates that Saudi Arabia has aligned with the US and allows American soldiers to protect Islam's holy land. </p><p>In recent times, their "cold war" has heated up considerably. In many ways, Iran seems to be winning. The <a href="/wiki/Yemeni_Civil_War" title="Yemeni Civil War">Yemeni Civil War</a> still rages along Saudi Arabia's southern border, with the Shia Houthi rebels possibly receiving aid from Iran.<sup id="cite_ref-colwar_112-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-colwar-112">[112]</a></sup> Iran also has its proxy Hezbollah in charge of much of Lebanon, and its Shia militias used the war against DAESH to take over large swathes of Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-113" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-113">[113]</a></sup> The Saudis have also mobilized their allies like <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jordan" title="Jordan">Jordan</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> to push back against Iranian power. Israel has also formed an unlikely common cause with Saudi Arabia, as Israel considers Iran a much more imminent threat. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Human_rights">Human rights</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Human rights">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Public_execution_of_Esmail_Jafarzadeh_(31).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Public_execution_of_Esmail_Jafarzadeh_%2831%29.jpg/300px-Public_execution_of_Esmail_Jafarzadeh_%2831%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="199" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Public_execution_of_Esmail_Jafarzadeh_%2831%29.jpg/450px-Public_execution_of_Esmail_Jafarzadeh_%2831%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Public_execution_of_Esmail_Jafarzadeh_%2831%29.jpg/600px-Public_execution_of_Esmail_Jafarzadeh_%2831%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="530" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Public_execution_of_Esmail_Jafarzadeh_(31).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Public execution of a murderer in Tehran. Fun for the whole family!</div></div></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Executions">Executions</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Executions">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Capital_punishment" title="Capital punishment">Capital punishment</a></div> <p>Iran executes hundreds of people per year. Those high numbers are mainly due to Iran's horrifyingly harsh drug laws; before 2017, drug abuses came with mandatory death sentences.<sup id="cite_ref-hrw_114-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hrw-114">[114]</a></sup> Although that law was amended, people are still executed for drug offenses, although in lesser numbers. </p><p>People may also be executed for crimes they allegedly committed as children, and judges have wide discretion to impose death in these cases. Iranian law considers acts such as "insulting the prophet," "apostasy," same-sex relations, and adultery as crimes punishable by death.<sup id="cite_ref-hrw_114-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hrw-114">[114]</a></sup> More than 100 offenses, including drinking alcoholic beverages and extramarital sex, can be punished with flogging. </p><p>Iran is also one of the only countries to practice public executions, apparently with the idea that the display will deter other criminals.<sup id="cite_ref-115" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-115">[115]</a></sup> It doesn't seem to be working since so many people are executed per year. </p> <h3><span id="Freedom_of_expression,_association,_and_assembly"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Freedom_of_expression.2C_association.2C_and_assembly">Freedom of expression, association, and assembly</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Freedom of expression, association, and assembly">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Ministerstvo_spravedlnosti_2.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Ministerstvo_spravedlnosti_2.jpg/275px-Ministerstvo_spravedlnosti_2.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="275" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Ministerstvo_spravedlnosti_2.jpg/413px-Ministerstvo_spravedlnosti_2.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Ministerstvo_spravedlnosti_2.jpg 2x" data-file-width="450" data-file-height="450" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Ministerstvo_spravedlnosti_2.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Iran's justice building in Tehran.</div></div></div> <p>Iran does not respect the human right to freedom of expression or assembly. Most recently, Iran shocked and horrified the world by killing, arbitrarily arresting, and torturing thousands of people who participated in the 2019-2020 protests.<sup id="cite_ref-116" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-116">[116]</a></sup> That harsh crackdown was followed by days of mass arrests to terrify people into silence. </p><p>The regime also regularly sends people to prison for unreasonably long sentences for minor crimes. Many victims of this tactic are: </p> <ul><li>Human rights activists.</li> <li>Labor rights activists.</li> <li>Environmental activists.</li> <li>Minority rights activists.</li> <li>Women’s rights activists.</li> <li>Anti-death penalty campaigners.</li> <li>People who ask the government to be truthful about the 1988 mass murders conducted by Khomeini.<sup id="cite_ref-amnesty_117-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-amnesty-117">[117]</a></sup></li></ul> <p>Independent civil society and human rights groups are banned. All forms of media are censored, and foreign broadcasts are blocked. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Due_process_and_mistreatment_of_prisoners">Due process and mistreatment of prisoners</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Due process and mistreatment of prisoners">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Iranian law enforcement regularly extracts confessions from prisoners by using <a href="/wiki/Torture" title="Torture">torture</a>, which is a notoriously unreliable method for getting an accurate view of the truth.<sup id="cite_ref-hrw_114-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hrw-114">[114]</a></sup> Iran also denies prisoners access to legal counsel and denies medical care to prisoners even in cases of severe preexisting conditions.<sup id="cite_ref-hrw_114-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hrw-114">[114]</a></sup> </p><p>Many people have died in prison due to torture. Prisons are inhumane, featuring conditions like overcrowding, prolonged solitary confinement, denial of medical care, denial of food and water, and insect infestations.<sup id="cite_ref-amnesty_117-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-amnesty-117">[117]</a></sup> In other cases, prisoners are punished with disfigurement. The Islamic Penal Code makes many crimes punishable by torture methods, including flogging, blinding, and forced amputation. In July, Kurdish singer Peyman Mirzazadeh was subjected to 100 lashes after being convicted on "drinking alcohol" charges.<sup id="cite_ref-amnesty_117-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-amnesty-117">[117]</a></sup> In October, a prisoner’s hand was amputated for theft in a prison in Sari, Mazandaran province.<sup id="cite_ref-amnesty_117-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-amnesty-117">[117]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span id="Women's_rights"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Women.27s_rights">Women's rights</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: Women's rights">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:177px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Iranian_surgical_technologist_with_hijab_09.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Iranian_surgical_technologist_with_hijab_09.jpg/175px-Iranian_surgical_technologist_with_hijab_09.jpg" decoding="async" width="175" height="233" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Iranian_surgical_technologist_with_hijab_09.jpg/263px-Iranian_surgical_technologist_with_hijab_09.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Iranian_surgical_technologist_with_hijab_09.jpg/350px-Iranian_surgical_technologist_with_hijab_09.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3096" data-file-height="4128" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Iranian_surgical_technologist_with_hijab_09.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Female doctors in Iran. Progress, but not enough.</div></div></div> <p>As you might expect, women face severe discrimination. Women may not obtain a passport or travel outside the country without written permission from the primary man in their life. Wearing the hijab is compulsory. In August 2019, Iranian civil rights activist Saba Kord Afshari was sentenced to 24 years in prison, including a 15-year term for taking off her hijab in public, which Iranian authorities say promoted "corruption and prostitution".<sup id="cite_ref-118" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-118">[118]</a></sup> </p><p>Women may be stoned to death for adultery, while men rarely get so severe a punishment for the same crime.<sup id="cite_ref-women_119-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-women-119">[119]</a></sup> Indeed, Iranian law recognizes a man's right to marry more than one woman at a time. Women, of course, do not get the same right. Men have the unilateral right to divorce women, a right women do not have. </p><p>However, in stark contrast to Saudi Arabia's harsh laws maintained until recently, Iranian women have the equal right to drive, vote, do not need to be accompanied by a male member of their families in public places, and have surpassed men in university entrance exams unlike any other country in the region.<sup id="cite_ref-women_119-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-women-119">[119]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Discrimination_against_religious_minorities">Discrimination against religious minorities</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: Discrimination against religious minorities">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>The Baháʼí Faith is a religion that originated in Iran between the years 1844 and 1863; it is not (as it is commonly misperceived to be) a branch or sect of Islam, but a new and independent religion that arose in a Twelver Shia Muslim context, the same way <a href="/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> arose in a <a href="/wiki/Jewish" class="mw-redirect" title="Jewish">Jewish</a> context and <a href="/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a> arose in a <a href="/wiki/Hindu" class="mw-redirect" title="Hindu">Hindu</a> context. Bahá’í law forbids <a href="/wiki/Cisgender" title="Cisgender">cisgender</a> <a href="/wiki/Gay" class="mw-redirect" title="Gay">gay</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lesbian" class="mw-redirect" title="Lesbian">lesbian</a> Bahá’ís to get married and requires <a href="/wiki/Transgender" title="Transgender">transgender</a> Bahá’ís to enter into “straight” marriages, and it also excommunicates people who break its unique “Covenant”, but aside from that, it is about as peaceful and universally loving a religion as could be imagined. Its prophet, Bahá’u’lláh (who is believed by the Bahá’í community to be the return of <a href="/wiki/Jesus_Christ" class="mw-redirect" title="Jesus Christ">Jesus Christ</a> “in the glory of the Father”), and his son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, taught that all human beings are worthwhile and that all religions should be respected.<sup id="cite_ref-120" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-120">[120]</a></sup> The Bahá’ís also refrain from partisan political involvement and <a href="/wiki/Civil_disobedience" title="Civil disobedience">civil disobedience</a>. In other words, they’re about as threatening as a chihuahua puppy. But because they believe that <a href="/wiki/Muhammad" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a> was not the last prophet in all of religious history ever (believing as they do that Bahá’u’lláh came after him and that more will come after Bahá’u’lláh’s era ends sometime around the year 3000), the Iranians treat them as dangerous criminals. Members of the Baháʼí community in Iran have been subjected to unwarranted arrests, false imprisonment, beatings, torture, unjustified executions, confiscation and destruction of property owned by individuals and the Baháʼí community, denial of employment, denial of government benefits, denial of civil rights and liberties, and denial of access to higher education.<sup id="cite_ref-121" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-121">[121]</a></sup> </p><p>Although other religions are free to practice, they still face restrictions. Non-Shia Muslims are still expected to live according to Iran's harsh religious laws. Only Shia Muslims may hold government positions or take certain jobs. A <a href="/wiki/Zoroastrian" class="mw-redirect" title="Zoroastrian">Zoroastrian</a> named Sepanta Niknam faced harsh opposition when he ran for city council in the central city of Yazd in 2017, and Zoroastrians, who love and revere dogs, also often fall afoul of Iran’s harsh <a href="/wiki/Sharia" title="Sharia">sharia</a> rulings against them. Converts to Christianity from Islam are routinely tortured and imprisoned; only those born Christian can practice freely. There is a <a href="/wiki/Hindu" class="mw-redirect" title="Hindu">Hindu</a> mandir in Iran, but the Hindu community is not legally recognized and has faced discrimination concerning the question of unequal sums of blood money paid in cases of murders of Hindus by Twelver Shia Muslim citizens. A practitioner of <a href="/wiki/Eckankar" title="Eckankar">Eckankar</a> and his wife, a non-Eckist translator of Eckist books into Farsi, were sentenced to death in 2017. <a href="/wiki/Atheist" class="mw-redirect" title="Atheist">Atheists</a> risk arbitrary detention, torture, and the death penalty for "apostasy".<sup id="cite_ref-amnesty_117-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-amnesty-117">[117]</a></sup> Iranian Jews generally live safely as long as they publicly support the <a href="/wiki/Palestinian" class="mw-redirect" title="Palestinian">Palestinian</a> national cause and do not even gesture in the direction of supporting <a href="/wiki/Zionism" title="Zionism">Zionism</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Discrimination_against_ethnic_minorities">Discrimination against ethnic minorities</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Discrimination against ethnic minorities">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Ethnic minorities, including Ahwazi Arabs, Turks, <a href="/wiki/Azerbaijan" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijanis</a>, Azeris, Baluchis, Kurds, Turkmens, Yazidis, Afro-Iranians, Iranian Jews, and Indian Iranians face institutional discrimination. Challenges for them include lack of access to education and employment and perpetual government neglect of their communities, impacting their ability to access essential services.<sup id="cite_ref-amnesty_117-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-amnesty-117">[117]</a></sup> Ethnic rights activists are sentenced to unreasonably long prison sentences. As they are largely <a href="/wiki/Sunni" title="Sunni">Sunni</a>, Kurds and Baluchis have been especially discriminated against by the government, and they faced much of the government violence in response to the Mahsa Amini protests.<sup id="cite_ref-122" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-122">[122]</a></sup> </p><p>Iran's mistreatment of the Baluchi people has resulted in a low-intensity insurgency waged by Baluchi nationalists along Iran's border with <a href="/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-123" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-123">[123]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Gallery">Gallery</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: Gallery">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <center><ul class="gallery mw-gallery-traditional"> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:43px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:North_Tehran_Towers.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/North_Tehran_Towers.jpg/250px-North_Tehran_Towers.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="169" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/North_Tehran_Towers.jpg/500px-North_Tehran_Towers.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="3238" data-file-height="2432" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Tehran, Iran's capital. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:43px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Kebab_Bakhtyari.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Kebab_Bakhtyari.jpg/225px-Kebab_Bakhtyari.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="169" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Kebab_Bakhtyari.jpg/338px-Kebab_Bakhtyari.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Kebab_Bakhtyari.jpg/450px-Kebab_Bakhtyari.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2048" data-file-height="1536" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Chelow kabab, one of Iran's national dishes. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:43px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:A_mountain_Road_,_Azna.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/A_mountain_Road_%2C_Azna.jpg/225px-A_mountain_Road_%2C_Azna.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="169" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/A_mountain_Road_%2C_Azna.jpg/338px-A_mountain_Road_%2C_Azna.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/A_mountain_Road_%2C_Azna.jpg/450px-A_mountain_Road_%2C_Azna.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2560" data-file-height="1920" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Iran's mountainous landscape. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:57px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Imam_Reza_shrine_-_18_August_2007_(16_8605270727_L600).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Imam_Reza_shrine_-_18_August_2007_%2816_8605270727_L600%29.jpg/225px-Imam_Reza_shrine_-_18_August_2007_%2816_8605270727_L600%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="141" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Imam_Reza_shrine_-_18_August_2007_%2816_8605270727_L600%29.jpg/338px-Imam_Reza_shrine_-_18_August_2007_%2816_8605270727_L600%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Imam_Reza_shrine_-_18_August_2007_%2816_8605270727_L600%29.jpg/450px-Imam_Reza_shrine_-_18_August_2007_%2816_8605270727_L600%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="375" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Prayers at the Imam Reza shrine. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:49px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Islamic_man_and_woman_at_an_an_electronic_exhibition_in_Tehran_(Iran).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Islamic_man_and_woman_at_an_an_electronic_exhibition_in_Tehran_%28Iran%29.jpg/225px-Islamic_man_and_woman_at_an_an_electronic_exhibition_in_Tehran_%28Iran%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="157" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Islamic_man_and_woman_at_an_an_electronic_exhibition_in_Tehran_%28Iran%29.jpg/338px-Islamic_man_and_woman_at_an_an_electronic_exhibition_in_Tehran_%28Iran%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Islamic_man_and_woman_at_an_an_electronic_exhibition_in_Tehran_%28Iran%29.jpg/450px-Islamic_man_and_woman_at_an_an_electronic_exhibition_in_Tehran_%28Iran%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="557" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Iranians at an electronics expo in Tehran. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:43px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Imam_(Shah)_Mosque,_Isfahan,_Iran_(14474999965).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Imam_%28Shah%29_Mosque%2C_Isfahan%2C_Iran_%2814474999965%29.jpg/225px-Imam_%28Shah%29_Mosque%2C_Isfahan%2C_Iran_%2814474999965%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="169" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Imam_%28Shah%29_Mosque%2C_Isfahan%2C_Iran_%2814474999965%29.jpg/338px-Imam_%28Shah%29_Mosque%2C_Isfahan%2C_Iran_%2814474999965%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Imam_%28Shah%29_Mosque%2C_Isfahan%2C_Iran_%2814474999965%29.jpg/450px-Imam_%28Shah%29_Mosque%2C_Isfahan%2C_Iran_%2814474999965%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3136" data-file-height="2352" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Shah Mosque in Isfahan. </p> </div> </div></li> </ul></center> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zoroastrianism" title="Zoroastrianism">Zoroastrianism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iran-Contra" title="Iran-Contra">Iran-Contra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hojatoleslam_Kazem_Sedighi" title="Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi">Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=39" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22846140#TWEET785465">Cheeky BBC quiz on your eligibility to be the Iranian president.</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit&section=40" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:80%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.parstimes.com/history/eisenhower_toast_shah.html">Toast by the President at a Luncheon Given in His Honor by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. December 14th, 1959.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-usbases-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-usbases_2-0">2.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-usbases_2-1">2.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2012/04/2012417131242767298.html">Map: US bases encircle Iran</a>. <i>Al Jazeera.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.payvand.com/news/04/dec/1153.html">Persia, Iran, and the Persian Gulf: A Brief History of Names</a>. "The suggestion for the name change from Persia to Iran is said to have come from the Persian ambassador to Germany, who was a Nazi sympathizer."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-reza-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-reza_4-0">4.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-reza_4-1">4.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.academia.edu/12146550/Self-Orientalization_and_Dislocation_The_Uses_and_Abuses_of_the_Aryan_Discourse_in_Iran?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_NN_p_20190614&section=backStory">Self-Orientalization and Dislocation: The Uses and Abuses of the "Aryan" Discourse in Iran</a> by Reza Zia-Ebrahimi (2011) <i>Iranian Studies</i> 44(4):445-473. doi:10.1080/00210862.2011.569326.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090615204528/http://www.iran-heritage.org/interestgroups/language-article5.htm">Persia or Iran, Persian or Farsi</a> by Ehsan Yarshater (1989) <i>Iranian Studies</i> 22(1) (archived from June 15, 2019).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.socalpersian.com/2021/04/12/iranian-or-persian-the-debate-continues/">Iranian or Persian – the debate continues</a>. <i>KIRN 670 AM Persian News, Talk and Info</i>. 12 April 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/early-humans-iran-were-growing-wheat-12-000-years-ago-f6C10536898">Early humans in Iran were growing wheat 12,000 years ago</a>. <i>NBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081216011240/http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/research/Exp_Rese_Disc/NearEast/wine.shtml">A Remarkable Discovery...</a> <i>University of Pennsylvania.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://arkeonews.net/irans-legendary-ruined-city-susa/">Iran’s legendary ruined city “Susa”</a>, <i>Arkeonews</i>, August 12, 2021</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=IsYkilw7Q-oC&q=Elam+earliest+writing&pg=PA69#v=onepage&q=3000&f=false">Trends in Lingustics</a>, <i>Brian D. Joseph</i>, 2009 (pg. 69)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/113/">Tchogha Zanbil</a>. UNESCO.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/4.htm">Ancient Iran</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-groups-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-groups_13-0">13.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-groups_13-1">13.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/5.htm">Immigration of the Medes and the Persians</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-cyrus-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-cyrus_14-0">14.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-cyrus_14-1">14.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-cyrus_14-2">14.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ancient.eu/Achaemenid_Empire/">Achaemenid Empire</a>. <i>Ancient History Encyclopedia.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-15">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ancient.eu/zoroaster/">Zarathustra</a>. <i>Ancient History Encyclopedia.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ancient.eu/Darius_I/">Darius I</a>. <i>Ancient History Encyclopedia.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-darius-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-darius_17-0">17.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-darius_17-1">17.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/6.htm">The Achaemenid Empire</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Issus" class="extiw" title="wp:Battle of Issus" rel="nofollow">Battle of Issus</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-alex-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-alex_19-0">19.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-alex_19-1">19.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/7.htm">Alexander the Great</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ancient.eu/Seleucid_Empire/">Seleucid Empire</a>. <i>Ancient History Encyclopedia.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-parthia-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-parthia_21-0">21.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-parthia_21-1">21.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ancient.eu/Parthia_(Empire)/">Parthia (Empire)</a>. <i>Ancient History Encyclopedia.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-sasan-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sasan_22-0">22.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sasan_22-1">22.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/8.htm">The Sassanids</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-23">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Paul Kane (2009). "Emerson and Hafiz: The Figure of the Religious Poet". <i>Religion & Literature</i>. 41 (1): 111–139. JSTOR 25676860.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-24">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070429144545/http://www.tau.ac.il/dayancenter/mel/lewis.html">Iran in History</a>. <i>Tel Aviv University.</i> Archived.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-sunniconq-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sunniconq_25-0">25.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sunniconq_25-1">25.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sunniconq_25-2">25.2</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sunniconq_25-3">25.3</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sunniconq_25-4">25.4</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/9.htm">Iran: Islamic Conquest</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-26">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seljuk_Empire" class="extiw" title="wp:Seljuk Empire" rel="nofollow">Seljuk Empire</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-27">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Assassins" class="extiw" title="wp:Order of Assassins" rel="nofollow">Order of Assassins</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-28">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Steven R. Ward (2009). <i>Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces</i>. Georgetown University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-58901-587-6.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-29">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/10.htm">Mongols and Tamerlane</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-safavid-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-safavid_30-0">30.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-safavid_30-1">30.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-safavid_30-2">30.2</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-safavid_30-3">30.3</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/11.htm">The Safavids</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-31">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Akiner, Shirin (5 July 2004). <i>The Caspian: Politics, Energy and Security</i>. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780203641675.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-shiacon-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-shiacon_32-0">32.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-shiacon_32-1">32.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safavid_conversion_of_Iran_to_Shia_Islam" class="extiw" title="wp:Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam" rel="nofollow">Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-33">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afsharid_dynasty" class="extiw" title="wp:Afsharid dynasty" rel="nofollow">Afsharid dynasty</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-34">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Steven R. Ward (2009). <i>Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces</i>. Georgetown University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-58901-587-6.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-qajar-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-qajar_35-0">35.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-qajar_35-1">35.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-qajar_35-2">35.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/12.htm">The Qajars</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-36">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Constitutional_Revolution" class="extiw" title="wp:Persian Constitutional Revolution" rel="nofollow">Persian Constitutional Revolution</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-const-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-const_37-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/13.htm">The Constitutional Revolution</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-38">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> Malekzadeh, Mehdi. <i>History of Persian Constitutional Revolution</i>. Sokhan publication. p. 1241. ISBN 964-372-094-2.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-39">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/14.htm">Iran: World War I</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-40">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_Persian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat" class="extiw" title="wp:1921 Persian coup d'état" rel="nofollow">1921 Persian coup d'état</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-rezai-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-rezai_41-0">41.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-rezai_41-1">41.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-rezai_41-2">41.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/15.htm">Era of Reza Shah</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-42">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Persian_Oil_Company" class="extiw" title="wp:Anglo-Persian Oil Company" rel="nofollow">Anglo-Persian Oil Company</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-43">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Soviet_invasion_of_Iran" class="extiw" title="wp:Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran" rel="nofollow">Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-44">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://youtu.be/9qFEB2hRPqQ">What if the Islamic Revolution Never Happened?</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-mossa-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-mossa_45-0">45.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-mossa_45-1">45.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-mossa_45-2">45.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/17.htm">Mossadegh and Oil Nationalization.</a> <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-46">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.npr.org/2019/01/31/690363402/how-the-cia-overthrew-irans-democracy-in-four-days">How The CIA Overthrew Iran's Democracy In 4 Days</a>. <i>NPR.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-47">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat" class="extiw" title="wp:1953 Iranian coup d'état" rel="nofollow">1953 Iranian coup d'état</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-whiterev-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-whiterev_48-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/iran/18.htm">The Shah's White Revolution</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-49">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/white-revolution-1961-1963">White Revolution (1961–1963)</a>. <i>Encyclopedia.com</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-50">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.france24.com/en/20190114-mohammad-reza-pahlavi-last-king-iran">Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last king of Iran</a>. <i>France24.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-savak-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-savak_51-0">51.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-savak_51-1">51.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/c037d5af8b3b4be6ae47f125d847d0f0">Shah of Iran modernized his nation but vacillated in crisis</a>. <i>Associated Press.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-52">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/204000/mde130011976en.pdf">Iran</a>. <i>Amnesty International 1976.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-53">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Elizabeth Shakman Hurd (2009). <i>The Politics of Secularism in International Relations.</i> Princeton University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-4008-2801-2.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-54">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/26/iran-morality-police-protests/">When Iran’s ‘morality police’ came for me</a> by Pardis Mahdavi (September 26, 2022 at 2:19 p.m. EDT) <i>The Washington Post</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-55">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran between two revolutions. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00790-X. p. 515</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-56">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_Rex_fire" class="extiw" title="wp:Cinema Rex fire" rel="nofollow">Cinema Rex fire</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-57">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Daniel, Elton L. and Mahdi, Ali Akbar (2006) <i>Culture and Customs of Iran</i>, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, page 106, ISBN 0-313-32053-5</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-58">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(1978)" class="extiw" title="wp:Black Friday (1978)" rel="nofollow">Black Friday (1978)</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-irarev-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-irarev_59-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iran-one-revolution-at-a_b_222651">Iran: One Revolution at a Time</a>. <i>Huffington Post.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-60">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140427145920/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1978/12/18/1978_12_18_134_TNY_CARDS_000322991?currentPage=all">Letter from Iran</a>. <i>The New Yorker.</i> Archived.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-61">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Lori A. Johnson; Kathleen Uradnik; Sara Beth Hower (2011). <i>Battleground: Government and Politics [2 volumes]: Government and Politics</i>. ABC-CLIO. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-313-34314-8.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-hostagei-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-hostagei_62-0">62.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-hostagei_62-1">62.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-hostagei_62-2">62.2</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-hostagei_62-3">62.3</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/11/30-years-after-the-hostage-crisis.html">The Hostage Crisis, 30 Years On</a>. <i>PBS.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-63">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eagle_Claw" class="extiw" title="wp:Operation Eagle Claw" rel="nofollow">Operation Eagle Claw</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-64"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-64">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mearsheimer, John J.; Walt, Stephen M. (12 November 2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/can-saddam-be-contained-history-says-yes">Can Saddam Be Contained? History Says Yes</a>. International Security. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-preludeiniq-65"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-preludeiniq_65-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Karsh, Efraim (25 April 2002). The Iran–Iraq War: 1980–1988. Osprey Publishing. pp. 1–8, 12–16, 19–82. ISBN 978-1-84176-371-2.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-66"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-66">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Farrokh, Kaveh. Iran at War: 1500–1988. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78096-221-4.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-67"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-67">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/26/exclusive-cia-files-prove-america-helped-saddam-as-he-gassed-iran/">Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran</a> SHANE HARRIS AND MATTHEW M. AID | AUGUST 26, 2013</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-68"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-68">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/lessons-from-the-iran-iraq-war-iranian-minorities-won-t-lead-transformative-change">Lessons from the Iran-Iraq War: Iranian Minorities Won’t Lead Transformative Change</a> Bolurchi, Neda. <i>Atlantic Council.</i> Aug 17, 2018</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-69"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-69">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/how-powerful-irans-revolutionary-guard-corps">How Powerful Is Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps?</a> <i>Council on Foreign Relations</i>. Ray Takeyh. June 16, 2016</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-70"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-70">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Hiro, Dilip (1991). <i>The Longest War: The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict.</i> New York: Routledge. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-415-90406-3. OCLC 22347651.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-71"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-71">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/1321090/Khomeini-fatwa-led-to-killing-of-30000-in-Iran.html">Khomeini fatwa 'led to killing of 30,000 in Iran'</a>. <i>The Telegraph.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-72"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-72">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/293503-the-un-should-investigate-the-1988-massacre-in-iran">The UN should investigate the 1988 massacre in Iran</a>. <i>The Hill.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-73"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-73">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4740441.stm">Iran hardliner becomes president</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-74"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-74">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Holocaust_Cartoon_Competition" class="extiw" title="wp:International Holocaust Cartoon Competition" rel="nofollow">International Holocaust Cartoon Competition</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-75"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-75">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/08/fidel-castro-criticises-mahmoud-ahmedinejad">Fidel Castro accuses Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of antisemitism</a>. <i>The Guardian.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-76"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-76">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Green_Movement" class="extiw" title="wp:Iranian Green Movement" rel="nofollow">Iranian Green Movement</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-77"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-77">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/05/19/iran-election/101867472/">Iran election: It's close as moderate Hassan Rouhani fights for second term</a>. <i>USA Today.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-78"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-78">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33521655">Iran nuclear deal: Key details</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-79"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-79">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%932020_Iranian_protests" class="extiw" title="wp:2019–2020 Iranian protests" rel="nofollow">2019–2020 Iranian protests</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-80"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-80">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/20/irans-protests-all-you-need-to-know-in-600-words">Iran’s protests: All you need to know in 600 words</a>, Al-Jazeera, 20 Nov 2019</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-81"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-81">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1309006/download">Iran November 2019 Protests</a>, Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration/Danish Immigration Service, July 2020</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-82"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-82">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_International_Airlines_Flight_752" class="extiw" title="wp:Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752" rel="nofollow">Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-83"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-83">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/iran">Iran: Events of 2020</a>, Human Rights Watch</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-84"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-84">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/25/politics/us-iraq-iran/index.html">US carries out air strikes in Syria targeting Iranian backed militias</a>, CNN, Feb 25, 2012</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-85"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-85">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.thebulwark.com/the-islamic-republic-is-killing-islam-in-iran/">https://www.thebulwark.com/the-islamic-republic-is-killing-islam-in-iran/</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-86"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-86">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202303116431">https://www.iranintl.com/en/202303116431</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-87"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-87">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.mnnonline.org/news/i-think-were-seeing-the-collapse-of-islam/">https://www.mnnonline.org/news/i-think-were-seeing-the-collapse-of-islam/</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-88"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-88">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/iran-secular-shift-gamaan.html">https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/iran-secular-shift-gamaan.html</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-89"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-89">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://theconversation.com/irans-secular-shift-new-survey-reveals-huge-changes-in-religious-beliefs-145253">https://theconversation.com/irans-secular-shift-new-survey-reveals-huge-changes-in-religious-beliefs-145253</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-90"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-90">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/supreme_leader.stm">Supreme Leader</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-gov-91"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-gov_91-0">91.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-gov_91-1">91.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-gov_91-2">91.2</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-gov_91-3">91.3</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-gov_91-4">91.4</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html">Structure of Power in Iran</a>. <i>PBS.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-92"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-92">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.ph/wip/ZEBpt">2. 83-year-old @khamenei_ir has been ruling since 1989. He's the only leader many young protestors have ever known. The institutions he's empowered-and empower him-are likeminded hardliners whose main source of diversity is whether their beards and turbans are black or white</a> by Karim Sadjapour (10:32 AM · Sep 24, 2022) <i>Twitter</i> (archived from 30 Sep 2022 15:42:38 UTC).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-93"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-93">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/assembly.stm">Assembly of Experts</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-94"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-94">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2020/12/iran-supreme-leader-khamenei-health-race-succession-rumors.html">Does Iran have a plan for a successor to Khamenei?</a> by Ali Hashem (December 24, 2020) <i>Al-Monitor</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-95"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-95">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on [[wp:Hussein-Ali Montazeri |Hussein-Ali Montazeri]].</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-96"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-96">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hossein-Ali-Montazeri">Hossein Ali Montazeri</a>. <i>Britannica.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-97"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-97">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/president.stm">President</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-98"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-98">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NoxLAAAAIBAJ&pg=5317,2965330&dq=mehdi+bazargan&hl=en">Bazargan resignation increases Iran risks to American Hostages</a> by Geoffrey Godsell (Nov. 9, 1979) <i>The Deseret News</i> via <i>The Christian Science Monitor</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-99"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-99">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">"Khomeni's grip appears at its tightest," The New York Times. 21 November 1982.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-100"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-100">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Consultative_Assembly" class="extiw" title="wp:Islamic Consultative Assembly" rel="nofollow">Islamic Consultative Assembly</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-101"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-101">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/parliament.stm">Parliament</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-102"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-102">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-election-khamenei/iran-announces-low-poll-turnout-blames-coronavirus-propaganda-idUSKCN20H09Z">Iran announces low poll turnout, blames coronavirus 'propaganda'</a>. <i>Reuters.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-103"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-103">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47852262">Profile: Iran's Revolutionary Guards</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-104"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-104">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/who-are-iran-s-secretive-quds-forces-n1110156">What is Iran's secretive Quds Force?</a> <i>NBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-usrel-105"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-usrel_105-0">105.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-usrel_105-1">105.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-usrel_105-2">105.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/history-us-iran-relations">A history of U.S.-Iran relations</a>. <i>Penn Today.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-106"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-106">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24316661">US-Iran relations: A brief history</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-107"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-107">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_sanctions_against_Iran" class="extiw" title="wp:United States sanctions against Iran" rel="nofollow">United States sanctions against Iran</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-108"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-108">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Cyprus-Ship-violated-UN-resolutions">Cyprus: Ship violated UN resolutions</a>. <i>Jerusalem Post.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-109"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-109">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/iran-jerusalem-unchangeable-capital-palestine-180201103316807.html">Iran says Jerusalem 'unchangeable' capital of Palestine</a>. <i>Al Jazeera.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-110"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-110">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44069932">Your questions answered on Iran and Israel relations</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-111"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-111">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/world/israel-threatens-strikes-iranian-nuclear-targets-2508935">Israel threatens strikes on Iranian nuclear targets</a>. <i>The Scotsman.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-colwar-112"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-colwar_112-0">112.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-colwar_112-1">112.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42008809">Why Saudi Arabia and Iran are bitter rivals</a>. <i>BBC News.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-113"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-113">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/18/world/middleeast/iran-iraq-spy-cables.html">The Iran Cables: Secret Documents Show How Tehran Wields Power in Iraq</a>. <i>New York Times.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-hrw-114"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-hrw_114-0">114.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-hrw_114-1">114.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-hrw_114-2">114.2</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-hrw_114-3">114.3</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/iran">Iran World Report 2020</a>. <i>Human Rights Watch.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-115"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-115">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_executions_in_Iran" class="extiw" title="wp:Public executions in Iran" rel="nofollow">Public executions in Iran</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-116"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-116">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/12/iran-thousands-arbitrarily-detained-and-at-risk-of-torture-in-chilling-post-protest-crackdown/">Iran: Thousands arbitrarily detained and at risk of torture in chilling post-protest crackdown</a>. <i>Amnesty International.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-amnesty-117"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-amnesty_117-0">117.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-amnesty_117-1">117.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-amnesty_117-2">117.2</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-amnesty_117-3">117.3</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-amnesty_117-4">117.4</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-amnesty_117-5">117.5</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/iran/report-iran/">Iran 2019</a>. <i>Amnesty International.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-118"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-118">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190913184232/https://nypost.com/2019/08/29/iranian-civil-rights-activist-gets-prison-for-taking-off-hijab-in-public/">Iranian civil rights activist gets prison for taking off hijab in public</a>. <i>New York Post.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-women-119"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-women_119-0">119.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-women_119-1">119.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://iranhrdc.org/gender-inequality-and-discrimination-the-case-of-iranian-women/">Gender Inequality and Discrimination: The Case of Iranian Women</a>. <i>Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-120"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-120">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_Faith" class="extiw" title="wp:Baháʼí Faith" rel="nofollow">Baháʼí Faith</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-121"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-121">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%ADs" class="extiw" title="wp:Persecution of Baháʼís" rel="nofollow">Persecution of Baháʼís</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-122"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-122">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://omerjournal.com/2022/12/20/kurds-and-baluch-are-brothers-thirsty-for-the-leaders-blood-irans-minorities-the-mahsa-amini-protests-and-iranian-identity/">“Kurds and Baluch are brothers, thirsty for the leader’s blood” – Iran’s minorities, the Mahsa Amini Protests and Iranian identity</a> <i>The Oxford Middle East Review</i>, December 20 2022.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-123"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-123">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgency_in_Balochistan" class="extiw" title="wp:Insurgency in Balochistan" rel="nofollow">Insurgency in Balochistan</a>.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div role="navigation" aria-labelledby="Nations_of_the_world-navigationbox" class="toccolours" style="clear:both; margin:0.5em 3.5%; text-align:center;"> <div style="margin:0.15em; padding:0.1em; background:#ccccff; font-weight:bold;"><span id="Nations_of_the_world-navigationbox"><a href="/wiki/Nation" title="Nation">Nations</a> of the world</span> </div> <div class="hlist" style="font-size: 90%; margin: 0.15em 1.425em;"><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Africa" title="Africa"><b>Africa</b></a>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Algeria" title="Algeria">Algeria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Eritrea" title="Eritrea">Eritrea</a> — <a href="/wiki/ESwatini" title="ESwatini">eSwatini</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ethiopia" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Guinea" title="Guinea">Guinea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kenya" title="Kenya">Kenya</a> — <a href="/wiki/Liberia" title="Liberia">Liberia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Libya" title="Libya">Libya</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mali" title="Mali">Mali</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nigeria" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Somalia" title="Somalia">Somalia</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sudan" title="Sudan">Sudan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Togo" title="Togo">Togo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uganda" title="Uganda">Uganda</a> — <a href="/wiki/Zimbabwe" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> <p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Asia" title="Asia"><b>Asia</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Armenia" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Azerbaijan" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> — <a href="/wiki/Brunei" title="Brunei">Brunei</a> — <a href="/wiki/Burma" title="Burma">Burma</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cambodia" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a> — <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Georgia_(country)" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> — <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a> — <a href="/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> — <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Iran</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> — <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a> — <a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Jordan" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kazakhstan" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kuwait" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kyrgyzstan" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Laos" title="Laos">Laos</a> — <a href="/wiki/Lebanon" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a> — <a href="/wiki/Malaysia" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Maldives" title="Maldives">Maldives</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mongolia" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nepal" title="Nepal">Nepal</a> — <a href="/wiki/North_Korea" title="North Korea">North Korea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Oman" title="Oman">Oman</a> — <a href="/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Palestine" title="Palestine">Palestine</a> — <a href="/wiki/Philippines" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> — <a href="/wiki/Qatar" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> — <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Tajikistan" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Thailand" title="Thailand">Thailand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Timor-Leste" title="Timor-Leste">Timor-Leste</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkmenistan" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uzbekistan" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a> — <a href="/wiki/Yemen" title="Yemen">Yemen</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe"><b>Europe</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Albania" title="Albania">Albania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Austria" title="Austria">Austria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" title="Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bulgaria" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Channel_Islands" title="Channel Islands">Channel Islands</a> — <a href="/wiki/Croatia" title="Croatia">Croatia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Czechia" title="Czechia">Czechia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Denmark" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> — <a href="/wiki/Estonia" title="Estonia">Estonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Finland" title="Finland">Finland</a> — <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> — <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> — <a href="/wiki/Greece" title="Greece">Greece</a> — <a href="/wiki/Hungary" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iceland" title="Iceland">Iceland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ireland" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Man" title="Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a> — <a href="/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a> — <a href="/wiki/Latvia" title="Latvia">Latvia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Moldova" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> — <a href="/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> — <a href="/wiki/North_Macedonia" title="North Macedonia">North Macedonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Norway" title="Norway">Norway</a> — <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Poland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Portugal" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> — <a href="/wiki/Romania" title="Romania">Romania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Serbia" title="Serbia">Serbia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Slovenia" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> — <a href="/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> (<a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a>) — <a href="/wiki/Vatican_City" title="Vatican City">Vatican City</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/North_America" title="North America"><b>North America</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> — <a href="/wiki/Costa_Rica" title="Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba">Cuba</a> — <a href="/wiki/El_Salvador" title="El Salvador">El Salvador</a> — <a href="/wiki/Grenada" title="Grenada">Grenada</a> — <a href="/wiki/Haiti" title="Haiti">Haiti</a> — <a href="/wiki/Jamaica" title="Jamaica">Jamaica</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nicaragua" title="Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a> — <a href="/wiki/Panama" title="Panama">Panama</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> (<a href="/wiki/Puerto_Rico" class="mw-redirect" title="Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a>) <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Oceania" title="Oceania"><b>Oceania</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kiribati" title="Kiribati">Kiribati</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nauru" title="Nauru">Nauru</a> — <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea" title="Papua New Guinea">Papua New Guinea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Pitcairn_Islands" title="Pitcairn Islands">Pitcairn Islands</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/South_America" title="South America"><b>South America</b></a>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Argentina" title="Argentina">Argentina</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bolivia" title="Bolivia">Bolivia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Brazil" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> — <a href="/wiki/Chile" title="Chile">Chile</a> (<a href="/wiki/Rapa_Nui" title="Rapa Nui">Rapa Nui</a>) — <a href="/wiki/Colombia" title="Colombia">Colombia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ecuador" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a> — <a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands">Falkland Islands</a> (<a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands"><small>Malvinas</small></a>)— <a href="/wiki/Paraguay" title="Paraguay">Paraguay</a> — <a href="/wiki/Peru" title="Peru">Peru</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uruguay" title="Uruguay">Uruguay</a> — <a href="/wiki/Venezuela" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><b>Separatist or disputed</b>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Abkhazia" title="Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a> —<a href="/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Greenland" title="Greenland">Greenland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kashmir" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kosovo" title="Kosovo">Kosovo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kurdistan" title="Kurdistan">Kurdistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Micronation" title="Micronation">Micronation</a> — <a href="/wiki/Northern_Cyprus" title="Northern Cyprus">Northern Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sealand" class="mw-redirect" title="Sealand">Sealand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Somaliland" title="Somaliland">Somaliland</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Ossetia" title="South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Taiwan" title="Taiwan">Taiwan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Tibet" title="Tibet">Tibet</a> — <a href="/wiki/Transnistria" title="Transnistria">Transnistria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Western_Sahara" title="Western Sahara">Western Sahara</a> </p> <span style="float:left;"><big><b>Historical</b>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Egypt" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belgian_Congo" title="Belgian Congo">Belgian Congo</a> — <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America" title="Confederate States of America">Confederate States of America</a> — <a href="/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany">East Germany</a> — <a href="/wiki/French_colonial_empire" title="French colonial empire">French colonial empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Imperial_China" title="Imperial China">Imperial China</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Hawai%CA%BBi" title="Kingdom of Hawaiʻi">Kingdom of Hawaiʻi</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> — <a href="/wiki/Rhodesia" title="Rhodesia">Rhodesia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> — <a href="/wiki/Vichy_France" title="Vichy France">Vichy France</a> — <a href="/wiki/Yugoslavia" title="Yugoslavia">Yugoslavia</a></div> </div> <!-- NewPP limit report Parsed by apache5 Cached time: 20250323052704 Cache expiry: 86400 Dynamic content: false Complications: [] CPU time usage: 0.976 seconds Real time usage: 2.553 seconds Preprocessor visited node count: 3363/1000000 Post‐expand include size: 28523/2097152 bytes Template argument size: 8941/2097152 bytes Highest expansion depth: 9/40 Expensive parser function count: 0/100 Unstrip recursion depth: 0/20 Unstrip post‐expand size: 60905/5000000 bytes --> <!-- Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template) 100.00% 829.129 1 -total 4.42% 36.643 1 Template:Reflist 0.83% 6.862 5 Template:Cquote 0.75% 6.203 1 Template:Countrybox 0.72% 5.966 1 Template:Silver 0.57% 4.742 24 Template:Wpa 0.57% 4.702 3 Template:Main 0.55% 4.519 1 Template:Cn 0.54% 4.481 1 Template:Nationbox 0.40% 3.327 10 Template:Wpl --> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key rationalwiki:pcache:idhash:10690-0!canonical and timestamp 20250323052701 and revision id 2722682 --> </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Iran&oldid=2722682">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Iran&oldid=2722682</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Silver-level_articles" title="Category:Silver-level articles">Silver-level articles</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Anti-Christian_bigotry" title="Category:Anti-Christian bigotry">Anti-Christian bigotry</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Anti-Western" title="Category:Anti-Western">Anti-Western</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Antisemitism" title="Category:Antisemitism">Antisemitism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Atheophobia" title="Category:Atheophobia">Atheophobia</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Asian_countries" title="Category:Asian countries">Asian countries</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Authoritarian_regimes" title="Category:Authoritarian regimes">Authoritarian regimes</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Fundamentalism" title="Category:Fundamentalism">Fundamentalism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Government_incompetence" title="Category:Government incompetence">Government incompetence</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Homophobia" title="Category:Homophobia">Homophobia</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Iran" title="Category:Iran">Iran</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Islam" title="Category:Islam">Islam</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Islamism" title="Category:Islamism">Islamism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Islamic_extremism" title="Category:Islamic extremism">Islamic extremism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Racism" title="Category:Racism">Racism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Middle_Eastern_countries" title="Category:Middle Eastern countries">Middle Eastern countries</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Religious_discrimination" title="Category:Religious discrimination">Religious discrimination</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Sexism" title="Category:Sexism">Sexism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Terrorism" title="Category:Terrorism">Terrorism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Theocracy" title="Category:Theocracy">Theocracy</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Totalitarianism" title="Category:Totalitarianism">Totalitarianism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Transphobia" title="Category:Transphobia">Transphobia</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Zoroastrianism" title="Category:Zoroastrianism">Zoroastrianism</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-navigation"> <h2>Navigation menu</h2> <div id="mw-head"> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-personal" class="vector-menu" aria-labelledby="p-personal-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-personal-label"> <span>Personal tools</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="pt-anonuserpage">Not logged in</li><li id="pt-anontalk"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n">Talk</a></li><li id="pt-anoncontribs"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y">Contributions</a></li><li id="pt-createaccount"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Iran" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory">Create account</a></li><li id="pt-login"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Iran" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o">Log in</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="left-navigation"> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-namespaces" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-namespaces-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-namespaces-label"> <span>Namespaces</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected"><a href="/wiki/Iran" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c">Page</a></li><li id="ca-talk"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Iran" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t">Talk</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-variants" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" /> <h3 id="p-variants-label"> <span>Variants</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation"> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-views-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-views-label"> <span>Views</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-view" class="collapsible selected"><a href="/wiki/Iran">Read</a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e">Edit</a></li><li id="ca-history" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h">Fossil record</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" /> <h3 id="p-cactions-label"> <span>More</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="p-search" role="search"> <h3 > <label for="searchInput">Search</label> </h3> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform"> <div id="simpleSearch"> <input type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search RationalWiki" title="Search RationalWiki [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput"/> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> <input type="submit" name="fulltext" value="Search" title="Search the pages for this text" id="mw-searchButton" class="searchButton mw-fallbackSearchButton"/> <input type="submit" name="go" value="Go" title="Go to a page with this exact name if it exists" id="searchButton" class="searchButton"/> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-panel"> <div id="p-logo" role="banner"> <a title="Visit the main page" class="mw-wiki-logo" href="/wiki/Main_Page"></a> </div> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal portal-first" aria-labelledby="p-navigation-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-navigation-label"> <span>Navigation</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-mainpage-description"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z">Main page</a></li><li id="n-recentchanges"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r">Recent changes</a></li><li id="n-randompage"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random mainspace article [x]" accesskey="x">Random page</a></li><li id="n-New-pages"><a href="/wiki/Special:NewPages">New pages</a></li><li id="n-All-logs"><a href="/wiki/Special:Log">All logs</a></li><li id="n-help"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="RTFM">Help</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-support" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-support-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-support-label"> <span>Support</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Donate"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Site_support">Donate</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-community" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-community-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-community-label"> <span>Community</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Saloon-bar"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Saloon_bar">Saloon bar</a></li><li id="n-To-do-list"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:To_do_list">To do list</a></li><li id="n-What-is-going-on.3F"><a href="/wiki/WIGO">What is going on?</a></li><li id="n-Best-of-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Contents">Best of RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-About-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki">About RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-Technical-support"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Technical_support">Technical support</a></li><li id="n-Mod-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:All_things_in_moderation">Mod noticeboard</a></li><li id="n-RMF-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:RationalMedia_Foundation">RMF noticeboard</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-Social media" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-Social media-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-Social media-label"> <span>Social media</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Twitter"><a href="https://twitter.com/RationalWiki" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></li><li id="n-Mastodon"><a href="https://mstdn.social/@rationalwiki" rel="nofollow">Mastodon</a></li><li id="n-Facebook"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rationalwiki/226614404019306" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></li><li id="n-Discord"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Discord">Discord</a></li><li id="n-Reddit"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Reddit">Reddit</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <!-- Please do not use role attribute as CSS selector, it is deprecated. --> <nav id="p-tb" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-tb-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-tb-label"> <span>Tools</span> </h3> <!-- Please do not use the .body class, it is deprecated. --> <div class="body vector-menu-content"> <!-- Please do not use the .menu class, it is deprecated. --> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="t-whatlinkshere"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Iran" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j">What links here</a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Iran" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k">Related changes</a></li><li id="t-specialpages"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q">Special pages</a></li><li id="t-print"><a href="javascript:print();" rel="alternate" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p">Printable version</a></li><li id="t-permalink"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&oldid=2722682" title="Permanent link to this revision of the page">Permanent link</a></li><li id="t-info"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Iran&action=info" title="More information about this page">Page information</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" role="contentinfo" > <ul id="footer-info" > <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 6 March 2025, at 01:09.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Unless explicitly noted otherwise, all content licensed as indicated by <a name="Copyright" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights">RationalWiki:Copyrights</a>. <br> For concerns on copyright infringement please see: <a name="Copyright infringement" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyright_violations">RationalWiki:Copyright violations</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places" > <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Privacy_policy" title="RationalWiki:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:About" class="mw-redirect" title="RationalWiki:About">About RationalWiki</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimer"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:General_disclaimer" title="RationalWiki:General disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"><img src="/w/88x31.png" alt="CC-BY-SA 3.0, or any later version" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> </ul> <div style="clear: both;"></div> </footer> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.976","walltime":"2.553","ppvisitednodes":{"value":3363,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":28523,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":8941,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":9,"limit":40},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":100},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":60905,"limit":5000000},"timingprofile":["100.00% 829.129 1 -total"," 4.42% 36.643 1 Template:Reflist"," 0.83% 6.862 5 Template:Cquote"," 0.75% 6.203 1 Template:Countrybox"," 0.72% 5.966 1 Template:Silver"," 0.57% 4.742 24 Template:Wpa"," 0.57% 4.702 3 Template:Main"," 0.55% 4.519 1 Template:Cn"," 0.54% 4.481 1 Template:Nationbox"," 0.40% 3.327 10 Template:Wpl"]},"cachereport":{"origin":"apache5","timestamp":"20250323052704","ttl":86400,"transientcontent":false}}});mw.config.set({"wgBackendResponseTime":2637,"wgHostname":"apache5"});});</script></body></html>