Islamic Republic of Iran

Chief of State: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (1989)

President: Hassan Rouhani (2013)





Monetary unit: Rial

National name: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran

Current government officials




National Holiday: Republic Day, April 1

Literacy rate: 85% (2008 est.)





Major sources and definitions

Flag of Iran









Iran Becomes a Theocracy with Islamic Revolution

The country's pro-Axis allegiance in World War II led to Anglo-Russian occupation of Iran in 1941 and deposition of the shah in favor of his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi's Westernization programs alienated the clergy, and his authoritarian rule led to massive demonstrations during the 1970s, to which the shah responded with the imposition of martial law in Sept. 1978. The shah and his family fled Iran on Jan. 16, 1979, and the exiled cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to establish an Islamic theocracy. Khomeini proceeded with his plans for revitalizing Islamic traditions. He urged women to return to wearing the veil; banned alcohol, Western music, and mixed bathing; shut down the media; closed universities; and eliminated political parties.

U.S. and Iran Sever Ties Amid Hostage Crisis

Revolutionary militants invaded the U.S. embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, seized staff members as hostages, and precipitated an international crisis. Khomeini refused all appeals, even a unanimous vote by the UN Security Council demanding immediate release of the hostages. Iranian hostility toward Washington was reinforced by the Carter administration's economic boycott and deportation order against Iranian students in the U.S., the break in diplomatic relations, and ultimately an aborted U.S. raid in April 1980 aimed at rescuing the hostages.

As the first anniversary of the embassy seizure neared, Khomeini and his followers insisted on their original conditions: guarantee by the U.S. not to interfere in Iran's affairs, cancellation of U.S. damage claims against Iran, release of $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets, an apology, and the return of the assets held by the former imperial family. These conditions were largely met and the 52 American hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981, ending 444 days in captivity.

The sporadic war with Iraq regained momentum in 1982, as Iran launched an offensive in March and regained much of the border area occupied by Iraq in late 1980. The stalemated war dragged on well into 1988. Although Iraq expressed its willingness to stop fighting, Iran stated that it would not end the war until Iraq agreed to pay for war damages and to punish the Iraqi government leaders involved in the conflict. On July 20, 1988, Khomeini, after a series of Iranian military reverses, agreed to cease-fire negotiations with Iraq. A cease-fire went into effect on Aug. 20, 1988. Khomeini died in June 1989 and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei succeeded him as the supreme leader.

Khatami Attempts to Liberalize Nation

By early 1991, the Islamic revolution appeared to have lost much of its militancy. Attempting to revive a stagnant economy, President Rafsanjani took measures to decentralize the command system and introduce free-market mechanisms.

Mohammed Khatami, a little-known moderate cleric, former newspaperman, and national librarian, won the presidential election with 70% of the vote on May 23, 1997, a stunning victory over the conservative ruling elite. Khatami supported greater social and political freedoms, but his steps toward liberalizing the strict clerical rule governing the country put him at odds with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

Signaling a seismic change in Iran's political environment, reform candidates won the overwhelming majority of seats in Feb. 2000 parliamentary elections, thereby wresting control from hard-liners, who had dominated the parliament since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The parliament's reformist transformation greatly buttressed the efforts of Khatami in constructing a nation of “lasting pluralism and Islamic democracy.” Khatami walked a jittery tightrope between student groups and other liberals pressuring him to introduce bolder freedoms and Iran's military and conservative clerical elite (including Khamenei), who expressed growing impatience with the president's liberalizing measures. In June 2001 presidential elections, Khatami won reelection with a stunning 77% of the vote.

In Jan. 2002, President Bush announced that Iran was part of an “axis of evil,” calling it one of the most active state sponsors of international terrorism.

Iran Taunts World With Nuclear Ambitions

By 2003, Iran was fanning much of the world's suspicions that it had illegal nuclear ambitions. In June 2003, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticized Iran's concealment of much of its nuclear facilities and called on the country to permit more rigorous inspections of its nuclear sites. Under intense international pressure, Iran reluctantly agreed in December to suspend its uranium enrichment program and allow for thorough IAEA inspections.

On Dec. 26, the most destructive earthquake of 2003 devastated the historic city of Bam, killing an estimated 28,000 to 30,000 of its 80,000 residents.

In Feb. 2004, conservatives won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, a setback for Iran's reformist movement. The hard-line Guardian Council had disqualified more than 2,500 reformist candidates, including more than 80 who were already members of the 290-seat parliament. The IAEA again censured the country in June 2004 for failing to fully cooperate with nuclear inspections. Neither U.S. threats nor Europe's coaxing managed to overcome Iran's alarming defiance.

Ahmadinejad Elected President

In June 2005, former Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hard-line conservative and a devout follower of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, won the presidential election with 62% of the vote. Ahmadinejad was highly popular among Iran's rural poor, who responded to his pledge to fight corruption among the country's elite. In Aug. 2005, he rejected an EU disarmament plan that was backed by the U.S. and had been in negotiation for two years. Ahmadinejad has been defiantly anti-Western and venomously anti-Israeli, announcing that Israel was a “disgraceful blot” that should be “wiped off the map.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was reelected as president of Iran on June 12, 2009, with over 62% of the vote. Disputes arose over the election's validity, with rival candidates claiming it was rigged. Protests and riots ensued in the streets of Tehran, resulting in at least 17 deaths and hundreds of arrests.

Iran Continues Progress on Nuclear Technology







Presidential Election Thrusts Iran into Crisis





Leaked Cables Show Arab Countries Wary of Iran

In November, President Ahmadinejad acknowledged that Iran's nuclear program had been dealt a blow in 2007 when its facility at Natanz was attacked by a computer worm, called Stuxnet. The worm destroyed about 1,000 of the country's 6,0000 centrifuges. Israel and the U.S. are believed to be behind the attack in an attempt to slow Iran's progress toward obtaining nuclear weapons.

Diplomatic cables released in November 2010 by WikiLeaks, an organization that disseminates secret information—or at least information not readily available to the public—in the interest of transparency, revealed that many Arab leaders fear Iran's growing nuclear power and have privately persuaded the United States to intervene. In fact, a cable from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Washington urged the U.S. to "cut off the head of the snake," referring to Iran. The cables also indicated for the first time that the U.S. believes Iran has acquired missiles from North Korea that could strike parts of Western Europe.

Experts Fear Iran Will Exploit Tumult in Middle East





Advances in Nuclear Program Lead to Additional Sanctions





Relationship with Israel Reaches Critical Point

Tension between Iran and Israel intensified in early 2012 as Iran continued to make progress on its nuclear weapons program. In January, Iran announced it was set to begin uranium enrichment at a second facility. Iran blamed Israel and the United States for the death of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a nuclear scientist. A bomber on a motorcycle killed Roshan in Tehran during the morning commute in January. It was the fourth attack on an Iranian nuclear specialist in two years. Then, in February, Israeli officials accused Iran of being involved in multiple terrorist attacks. On Feb. 13, Israeli Embassy personnel in the capitals of Georgia and India were the targets of bombers. The following day a residential neighborhood in Bangkok was the site of a series of explosions. Thai authorities arrested two men with Iranian passports in connection to the attacks.

In August 2012, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that while economic sanctions have hurt Iran, they have not slowed progress on the country's nuclear program. In fact, the report found that Iran's nuclear program had progressed even faster than anticipated. The report validated Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's suspicion that Iran's nuclear program has continued to move at full speed despite the sanctions and diplomatic isolation imposed on Iran by an international community. The agency's report also confirmed that 75% of the nuclear centrifuges needed for an underground site had been installed. Netanyahu indicated that Iran was getting close to crossing the "red line" and that Israel had to determine the appropriate time to act to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. In late September, Netanyahu calmed fears that a preemptive attack was imminent in an address to the UN General Assembly. He said he believed Iran would not have the technology to enrich uranium until at least the spring of 2013 and therefore there was time for diplomacy to deter Iran's nuclear program.

As Iran's economy continued to crumble under the weight of increasingly stringent economic sanctions—the value of rial fell by more than 40% in one week in early October—Iran and the U.S. agreed in October to engage in bilateral talks about Iran's nuclear weapons program. However, no talks had occurred by mid-December.


Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric and Iran's former negoiator on nuclear issues, won June 2013's presidential election in a landslide, taking 50.7% of the vote. Reformists threw their support behind Rouhani after their preferred candidate, Mohammad Reza Aref, dropped out of the race. Thousands of Iranians took to the streets to celebrate Rouhani's victory. While he had the backing of reformists, Rouhani has long been a member of the country's conservative establishment. He served in parliament for more than 20 years and is loyal to Ayatollah Khamenei. He campaigned on a promise to reach out to the west and improve relations with the U.S., and after his election he promised to "follow the path of moderation and justice, not extremism." However, Rouhani said Iran would continue to pursue its nuclear program. U.S. president Barack Obama similarly expressed hope that the two countries would engage in a dialogue that might lead to progress on the seemingly intractable nuclear issue.

In a remarkable turn of events in September, Rouhani followed through on his pledge to thaw relations with the west. In rapid succession, he announced that Iran would never "seek weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons"; released 11 prominent political prisoners; transferred oversight of the country's nuclear program from the conservative—and militarily agressive—national security council to the more moderate foreign ministry; exchanged letters with President Barack Obama; and wished Jews a joyous Rosh Hoshanah. All of these moves reportedly had the backing of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme religious leader, who wields ultimate power in the country. In an opinion article in the Washington Post on Sept. 20, Rouhani signaled his willingness to engage the international community to forge mutually beneficial relationships. Such diplomacy, he said, means "engaging with one's counterparts, on the basis of equal footing and mutual respect, to address shared concerns and achieve shared objectives." He offered to mediate between the Syrian government and the opposition and reiterated that the country intends to pursue nuclear power for peaceful purposes. "Mastering the atomic fuel cycle and generating nuclear power is as much about diversifying our energy resources as it is about who Iranians are as a nation, our demand for dignity and respect and our consequent place in the world."

Rouhani's charm offensive continued on his trip to the U.S., where he addressed the UN General Assembly on Sept. 24. His speech notably lacked the anti-Israel bluster of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and he was careful to refrain from making statements that would raise eyebrows at home or expectations by the West. He repeated his earlier claim that Iran would never seek nuclear weapons but would continue to pursue uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes. He also suggested that the U.S. and Iran could come to agreement on Iran's nuclear program within six months. In another remarkable turn, Rouhani called the Holocaust "reprehensible." The statement further illustrated how Rouhani is steering a markedly different course from Ahmadinejad, who denied the Holocaust on several occasions. Many observers were disappointed that President Obama and Rouhani didn't shake hands at the UN. Still, expectations for future talks and progress on the intractable nuclear issue remain high.

Iran Agrees to Scale Back Nuclear Program

Talks about Iran's nulcear program between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany resumed in October and again November after being on hold for six months. They were the most promising and specific to date. In a separate agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran said it would give the agency inspectors "managed access" to nuclear facilities in Bandar Abbas and Arak so they can gather data about activities. The agreement does not require that Iran hand over proprietary information about their technology. The plant at Bandar Abbas is a mine that produces yellowcake uranium, and Arak houses a heavy-water production plant. Iran, however, did not grant the IAEA access to the plant at Parchin, where inspectors think Iran tested triggers for nuclear devices.

On Nov. 24 at a third round of talks in Geneva, Iran reached a six-month deal with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Iran agreed to halt production of uranium beyond 5%, which means it could only produce uranium for peaceful purposes; dilute or convert to oxide its stockpile of uranium enriched to 20%; not install new centrifuges; give UN inspectors daily access to enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordo. In return, the crippling sanctions against Iran were eased, pumping between $6 billion and $7 billion back into Iran's economy. The sanctions will be reinstated if Iran does not comply. Negotiations for a long-term agreement will continue during the six-month period. Israel and Saudi Arabia both expressed outrage about the deal, fearing their power in the Middle East would be threatened or diminished by closer ties between the U.S. and Iran and by Iran's potential wealth from oil revenue and its nuclear know-how.

By the time the next round of talks opened in February 2014, Iran's economy was showing signs of rebounding, with inflation falling from 45% in 2013 to less than 30%—a result of the easing of sanctions. While representatives at the six-party talks disclosed little about the progress, they said they had agreed on a detailed framework for moving forward—certainly reason for cautious optimism. The next round of talks is set to begin in March.

Iran, which holds tremendous influence over the Shiite-led government of Iraq, has advised Iraq during the crisis. Qassim Suleimani, head of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, traveled to Baghdad to help Maliki and military leaders plan a response to the ISIS advance, and Iran has regularly sent military supplies to Iraq. Syria has also contributed, launching airstrikes targeted at ISIS militants in western Iraq.

See also Encyclopedia: Iran.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Iran


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