iran

Iran is a Middle Eastern country slightly larger in land mass than Alaska, located between Iraq and Pakistan, opening onto the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the south and the Caspian Sea in the north. Climate is arid or semiarid mountains and deserts, with the Caspian coast having subtropical climate. It's capital city is Tehran. Iran, dating back to 550 B.C., was the center of the Persian Empire, and is home to the world's most ancient human settlements. Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced into exile.

Shi'iah Islam is Iran's national religion, practiced by 89 percent of the population. Sunni Muslims make up another 9 percent. The major languages spoken in Iran include Farsi (Persian) and Persian dialects, Kurdish, and Turkic and its dialects. Oil is Iran's largest crude export.

Comprehensive information on Iran can be found through technorati search for Iran, Nuclear Iran, Iran Contra Affair, terrorism Iran, Persian Empire, and the Iranian Revolution, to name a few. There is also some quick information to be found at BBC, profile Iran. Frontline searches for Iran will bring you to several programs offering. The CIA world factbook gives a briefing.

If you are traveling to Iran from the United States you should check the current travel warnings set out by the U.S. Department of State.

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Original Technorati articles tagged “iran”

• in Technology
  Russia Rolls out Their Censored Version of the Web
  A new Russian law will allow them to shut down websites they deem to be harmful
  by cmimanagers / on Nov 1, 2012
• in Technology
  Iran Ready to Turn on the Internet
  Iranian plans for a domestic firewalled version of the Internet are to come to fruition.
  by cmimanagers / on Sep 24, 2012
• in Technology
  Iran Behind Cyber-Attacks on U.S. Banks
  JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have been repeatedly attacked over the last year as part of a campaign targeting the U.S.
  by cblaha / on Sep 22, 2012

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “iran”

 

• Iran War Weekly | May 20, 2013

  
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  From Frank Brodhead’s Iran War Weekly: After almost a year of no progress in negotiations between “the West” and Iran about Iran’s nuclear program, last week’s meetings in Istanbul confirmed that there would be, indeed, no progress until at least after Iran’s presidential election, which will take place ...
  2 days ago

• When a Shark Stirs the Water for Iran’s Presidential Hopefuls

  
  niacINsight — Authority: 107
  With the Guardian Council set to announce the final list of Iranian presidential candidates on Tuesday, after vetting a staggering amount of  hopefuls ( 686 to be exact ), a few contenders have been making some prominent headway. Prior to the registration deadline it seemed as if many Iranian voters were going to ...
  2 days ago

• The Eccentrics and the Women Who Run for President in Iran

  
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  One of the more eccentric presidential hopefuls says ‘Presidents should be handsome. Source: Entekhab Hundreds of hopeful Iranians, including thirty women,  have registered as candidates  to replace President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the forthcoming election on June 14, 2013 even though they have no chance ...
  2 days ago

• Iran awaits Guardian Council decision on Rafsanjani, other presidential contenders

  
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  In less than 24 hours, Iranians will know who will be clear to run in next month’s presidential election, the first since the June 2009 race that led to the ‘Green Movement’ that attracted global attention. That’s because within Iranian democracy, the Guardian Council, a 12-member body of clerics and ...
  2 days ago

• Syria: no place for back-seat drivers | Editorial

  
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  Having rejected the diplomatic option of talking to Assad, neither the US nor Britain can lead from behind It was only a matter of time before a proxy war between regional powers turned into a battlefield in which foreign fighters openly engaged in combat. Hezbollahs fighters had been present in Syria for some time, ...
  2 days ago

• Iran’s New Air Defense System: Herz-9

  
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  Iran’s Defense Ministry today unveiled a new air defense system, named Herz-9. “Iran is among a few leading world countries producing such an air defense system domestically. This mobile air defense system is more advanced and capable than our previous air defense models,” said Iran’s defense minister, ...
  2 days ago

• The Rage, Relativism and Racism of Glenn Greenwald

  
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  The following was originally published at the blog  Jacobinism , and is being reposted here with the author’s permission “Then the idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone, All centuries but this, and every country but his own …” - W. S. Gilbert  For a commentator who gets as ...
  2 days ago

• Russian Med fleet returns – an unintended consequence

  
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  There was a lot of distraction in the news last week, particularly the flank attack moves on Obama that obscured a huge development in the Mid East… the first return of the Russian Pacific Navy for Mediterranean deployment since 1992.
  2 days ago

• Hezbollah pulled more deeply into Syria civil war

  
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  Hezbollah was pulled more deeply into Syria’s civil war as 28 guerrillas from the Lebanese Shiite militant group were killed and dozens more wounded while fighting rebels, Syria activists said... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
  2 days ago

• Iran policy reaches day of reckoning – Washington Post – Washington Post (blog)

  
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  Iran policy reaches day of reckoning - Washington PostWashington Post (blog)Finally, the bill requires the Obama administration to produce a “national strategy on Iran” each year “highlighting Iranian capabilities and key vulnerabilities that the...
  2 days ago

• Iran Hangs Spies Accused Of Providing Information To CIA, Israel

  
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  Iran is a dangerous place for anyone who might even be remotely in contact with foreign countries. That danger was clearly demonstrated over the weekend. The AP reports Mohammad Heidari and Kourosh Ahmadi were hung over the weekend after being convicted of spying for foreign countries. Heidari was accused of ...
  2 days ago

• What Will Tighter Restrictions on Trade in Iran Do?

  
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  By Thomas Hedges, Center for Study of Responsive Law By Thomas Hedges A bipartisan team of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would expand sanctions against Iran by targeting an estimated $100 billion worth of the country’s foreign currency reserves that are parked in overseas accounts. ...
  2 days ago

• STREET LIFE: ON THE WALL WITH MEHDI GHADYANLOO IN TEHRAN, IRAN

  
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  Yes, you read that right. Mehdi Ghadyanloo is Irans foremost street artist and muralist and this incredible recent (and legal) "floating city" painting of his continues to blow our minds. Great things can happen in crazy places...
  3 days ago

• Egypt: From Tehran With Love

  
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  As Iran loses ground in Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip, expect Tehran to try to shore up its ability to influence the Middle East in the most unlikely of places:  Egypt. Over the last few years there have been numerous signs that Cairo and Tehran were making tentative steps toward changing their previously ...
  3 days ago

• IRAN: National conservative clerics move to sanction women from presidential bids

  
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  WNN Justice – Iran (WNN/AI) Tehran, IRAN, CENTRAL ASIA: Iran’s ban on female presidential candidates contradicts several articles of the country’s Constitution as well as international law and should be removed, says human rights advocates Amnesty International. Thirty women have registered to stand as ...
  3 days ago

• State Dept. Spokeswoman Refuses to Criticize Iran for Excluding Women Candidates from Election

  
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  State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki refused to criticize Iran for excluding women candidates from the upcoming "election" there. The remarkable exchange, which  concludes with Psaki saying this  (“We want this [election] to be free and fair. There’s a lot of ways to, of course, define that.”) happened at ...
  3 days ago

• Iran Hangs Spies Suspected of Working For CIA And Mossad

  
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  Reports state that Iran hanged spies, suspected of working for the US CIA and Israel’s Mossad. A news radio station in Iran ran the report on Sunday, stating that  Mohammad Heidari and Kourosh Ahmadi were executed by hanging for their alleged crimes. Officials in Tehran, Iran, have accused the US and Israel of ...
  3 days ago

• Mercedes Controversy in Run Up to Iranian Presidential Elections

  
  Algemeiner — Authority: 593
  Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s Mercedes. Photo: Channel 2 Israel. A Mercedes-Benz is at the center of a controversy surrounding the upcoming Iranian presidential elections. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council which vets potential candidates, made controversial comments alluding to ...
  3 days ago

• Obama-Gate and World War III

  
  Algemeiner — Authority: 593
  North Korean soldier stands guard with rocket in the background. Photo: http://www.conservativecommune.com. Americans are the biggest losers from the slew of scandals now rocking the White House, but who are the biggest winners? Iran, North Korea, Syria, China, and Russia. If US foreign policy seemed spineless ...
  3 days ago

• Could Rafsanjani be disqualified from Irans presidential race for his age?

  
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  Iran has a presidential election coming up, and, earlier this month, former two-term president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani submitted his bid for candidacy. Rafsanjani, a powerful figure who is considered more moderate than other candidates, could shake up the race -- but only if the countrys Guardian Council ...
  3 days ago

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