Iran is a county in southwest Asian, country of mountains and deserts. Eastern Iran is dominated by a high plateau, with large salt flats and vast sand deserts. The plateau is surrounded by even higher mountains, including the Zagros to the west and the Elburz to the north. Its neighbors are Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia on the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan on the east, and Turkey and Iraq on the west.
Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas.

Iran At a glance (General Info):

Capital (and largest city)      Tehran

35°41′N 51°25′E / 35.683°N 51.417°E / 35.683; 51.417

Official language(s) Persian (Farsi)

Spoken languages    PersianAzeri, Kurdish, Lori, Balochi, Gilaki, Arabic, Turkmen, Armenian, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic

Government Islamic republic

 -          Supreme Leader                       Ayatullah Al-Uzma Seyed Ali Khamenei

 -          President                                    Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

 -          First Vice President                   Mohammad-Reza Rahimi

 -          Speaker of the Parliament      Ali Larijani

 -          Chief Justice                              Sadeq Larijani

Legislature     Islamic Consultative Assembly

Unification

 -          Median Empire           625 BC

 -          Safavid Empire           1501

 -          Islamic Republic         1 April 1979

 -          Current constitution     24 October 1979

Area

 -          Total    1,648,195 km2 (18th)

636,372 sq mi

 -          Water (%)        0.7

Population

 -          2011 estimate             75,330,000 (17th)

 -          2010 census    74,700,000

 -          Density            45/km2 (163rd)

116.6/sq mi

GDP (PPP)     2010 estimate

 -          Total    $818.653 billion

 -          Per capita        $10,864

GDP (nominal)          2010 estimate

 -          Total    $357.221 billion

 -          Per capita        $4,740

Gini (2008)     38 (medium)

HDI (2010)      increase 0.702 (high) (70th)

Currency        Rial (ریال) (IRR)

Time zone      IRST (UTC+3:30)

 -          Summer (DST)           Iran Daylight Time (IRDT) (UTC+4:30)

Drives on the             right

ISO 3166 code           IR

Internet TLD .ir

Calling code 98