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1. The country of Iran is located in the South-West Asia. With its land area accounting for 1,648,195 km2, Iran is considered the world’s seventeenth largest country. In the North, Iran borders Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, in the East – Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the West – Iraq. The country’s Southern shore is washed with The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Iran is considered one of the world’s most resource-rich nations. The country’s share in the discovered oil-deposits on the planet accounts for 10% and in the natural gas-deposits for 16%. This, of course, creates objective preconditions for Iran to influence the geopolitical developments in the area rather substantially, and to remain the focus of the most powerful international players’ attention. As of 20012, the country’s total GDP amounted to approximately $988.000 billion.
Out of the Iran’s population of some 65 million, 99% of citizens are the affiliates of Islam. Being an Islamic country, Iran features the world’s largest population of Shiites (about 50 million). Iran is considered a comparatively ‘young’ country, as 34% of its population is comprised of individuals under the age of 14 (Salehi-Isfahani 604).
As of recently, Iran has developed the capability to enrich uranium, which in turn caused the country to become the subject of the internationally imposed sanctions. This, however, did not have much of an effect of the functioning of the country’s economy. One of the reasons for this is that, despite being often referred to in terms of an ‘outcast’, Iran is informally allied with China, Russia and India.
2. The bulk of the country’s territory is situated upon the Iranian Plateau, which in turn causes Iran to be considered a predominantly mountainous country. The Iran’s highest mountain is the Mount Damavand (5604 m). The country’s lowest land-point (at the shore of the Caspian Sea) is 28 m.
The Iran’s East is predominantly covered with salt-deserts, the largest of which are Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut. With the exception of a few oases, these areas are virtually uninhabited. The country’s largest plains are located in the North (along the Caspian Sea’s shore) and in the South-West (along the shore of the Persian Gulf).
The Iran’s West is dominated by the mountainous system of Zagros, with the total length of about 1500 km. Even though the country’s Western areas are considered the most seismically active, they are simultaneously being the most populated ones. Along with the earlier mentioned oil and natural gas, Iran is rich with uranium, copper and iron.
There are a few rivers in the Eastern Iran and The Karun River in the Southwest. Most of the country’s rivers are becoming progressively shallower. The same can be said about the majority of lakes in Iran, many of which are on the verge of being turned into the salt-water swamps.
The Iran’s climate is best described as subtropical, continental. The January’s average temperature in the southernmost parts of Iran is +15 degree Celsius, with the same temperature in the North being estimated to account for -2 degree Celsius.
Most of the country’s territory receives from 50 mm to 500 mm of a rainfall annually, which in turn contributes to the Iranian climate’s strongly defined aridness.
3. The Iranian national culture continues to be strongly affected by the religious provisions of Islam, which in turn causes it to be deeply patriarchal/traditionalistic.
As Price noted: “Iranian culture is Class based, traditional and patriarchal. Tradition for most is rooted in religion and class and patriarchy have been constant features of Iranian society since ancient times” (par. 1). This explains why many of the seemingly outdated cultural traditions continue to be widely practiced, throughout Iran – hence, defining the essence of the country’s social realities.
These traditions prescribe Iranians to pay an utter respect to the elders, to be endowed with the sense of a social solidarity and to pursue a highly religious lifestyle (while interacting with each other, Iranians are expected to never cease remaining thoroughly observant of the Islamic code of Sharia). This explains probably one of the Iranian culture’s most striking features – the fact that the majority of Iranians does not tolerate any alcoholic beverages, whatsoever.
What also appears to be especially notable about the country’s cultural landscape is that the majority citizens do not accept the ideals of a gender-equality. In Iran, men and women are expected to act in the manner, fully consistent with what happened to be their biologically defined roles in the society. To ensure that this is indeed being the case, the Iranian government established the so-called ‘morality police’, the members of which are entrusted with the task of enforcing the Islamic morality’s rules and regulations.
The country’s three most influential ethno-groups are Persians, Pashtuns and Kurds. This highlights probably the most important difference between Iran and the rest of the Muslim countries, in the ethno-cultural sense of this word – the fact that, unlike the latter, Iran is predominantly populated by people of the Indo-European racial background.
4. Iran’s economy depends on oil and natural gas, with the related industries contributing rather substantially to the generation of GNP. As of 2001, the revenue generated by the Iranian economy’s gas-sector alone amounted to $20 billion (“Encyclopedia of the Nations: Iran” par. 29).
Partially, this explains why it is specifically the petrochemical industry, which is being closely affiliated with the bulk of the manufacturing enterprises in Iran – natural gas accounts for 60% of the raw materials, utilized by the petrochemical plants in the country. The main products (export-items) of the Iranian petrochemical industry are fertilizers and methanol.
The country’s banking sector is dominated by the state-owned banks, which operate in full accordance with the provisions of the so-called ‘Islamic banking’. However, during the course of recent decades, the government substantially liberalized this particular sector of the economy, by the mean of allowing the privatization of the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE),
The Iranian agriculture accounts for the one-fifth of GDP. This can be well thought of as the indication of this particular sector of Iran’s economy being technologically advanced to an extent, as only 12% of the country’s territory is considered agriculturally approachable. As of today, the government pursues with the policy of encouraging farmers to join the collectively owned agricultural enterprises.
Overall, the Iranian economy can be characterized, as such, that is being heavily affected by the policy of an economic protectionism, on the government’s part. This is the reason why, despite lacking profitableness, many of the Iranian manufacturing companies nevertheless continue to enjoy a number of different subsidies from the government (“2014 Index of Freedom: Iran” par. 4).
5. The political system of Iran is best defined as theocracy, with the elements of parliamentarism. The government’s highest office, assigned with many legislative and judicial powers, is that of the Supreme Leader. In its turn, the Supreme Leader is elected by the ‘Assembly of Experts’, consisting of the Iran’s most prominent religious leaders.
The President of Iran (representing the government’s executive branch) is elected by the mean of a popular vote among the citizens. The President’s another function is to preside over the Council of Ministers, the members of which are appointed by the Parliament. Nevertheless, the very nature of Iranian politics severely limits the President’s ability to influence the process of the legislative/executive decision-making in the country.
According to Kagan: “Iran’s presidency thus combines most of the weaknesses of both a presidential and a prime ministerial form of government with few of the strengths” (par. 2). Along with the Supreme Leader, the Iranian Parliament also exercises a legislative authority, mainly concerned with managing the country’s financial affairs.
What makes the Iranian system of a political governing unique is the fact that it is based upon the Islamic law of Sharia. In its turn, this requires the country’s politicians to adjust their corporate agenda to be fully consistent with the main tenets of Islam.
The system’s another prominent feature is that, despite remaining utterly theocratic, it nevertheless does establish many objective preconditions for citizens to be able to take part in the thoroughly democratic Presidential elections.
Given the fact that, ever since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the government did succeed in many of its undertakings (such as the promotion of literacy), there is a good reason to think that the manner in which the government handles the country’s internal and foreign affairs, is indeed reflective of the citizens’ will.
6. The Iranian army is believed to be one of the world’s strongest. As of today, it features the force of 540.000 strong and it is adequately equipped with modern tanks, artillery pieces and aircrafts. Conscripts, who account for about two-thirds of the country’s military personnel, serve for the duration of eighteen months (Cordesman 15).
Structurally speaking, the Armed Forces of Iran consist of the Iranian Army (ground forces), the Iranian Navy and the Iranian Air Force. Along with the regular Armed Forces, the Iranian system of national defense heavily relies upon the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, which consists of the fully equipped military formations, composed of the Supreme Leader’s most ardent supporters (120.000).
The Army of the Guardians operates its own Navy and the special-force unit. There is also a governmentally sponsored paramilitary organization in Iran, commonly referred to as the Basij, with the membership of approximately 12 million (including women). The organization’s members are required to spend a few weeks per year being trained in boot camps.
As of 2009, the country’s defense budget accounted for about $9.5 billion, which causes Iran to be considered one of the world’s twenty-five most militarized nations. Such a state of affairs has been predetermined by the fact that, ever since the early nineties, Iran began to invest heavily into establishing its own defense industry.
Eventually, this allowed Iran to realize itself being in the position to manufacture fighter planes, submarines, tanks, APCs and guided/ballistic missiles. This, of course, substantiates the validity of the suggestion that, in the area of the Persian Gulf, Iran can indeed be considered as the most military potent country.
7. Politically speaking, Iran can be referred to as a rather stable country. One of the reasons for this is that the very paradigm of a theocratic governing undermines the acuteness of the citizens’ dissent with the deployed socio-economic policies. Nevertheless, there are a number of rather pressing challenges to the continuation of the earlier mentioned stability in Iran. The foremost of these challenges can be outlined as follows:
a) The fact that the younger generations of Iranians grow increasingly secularized, which in turn makes it much harder for the government to exercise a full control over the socio-political dynamics in the country (Swan par. 4).
c) The continuation of the economic recession, which has been causing the steady growth of the unemployment rate among Iranians, throughout the last decade. This, of course, adds even further to the anti-governmental sentiment among many Iranians.
d) The continuous enactment of the internationally imposed economic sanctions against Iran, on the account of the country’s commitment to proceed with developing its nuclear program. These sanctions effectively impede the government’s effort in trying to increase the quality of living standards in Iran.
Nevertheless, there is a certain reason to think that the government would be able to successfully address the above-mentioned challenges. The rationale behind this suggestion is that, as of today, the focus of the America’s geopolitical attention continues to shift away from Iran, which in turn makes it harder for the agents of foreign influence in this country to proceed with encouraging people to revolt. The suggestion’s validity can also be illustrated in regards to the growing geopolitical influence of Russia and China in the area.
Works Cited
2014 Index of Freedom: Iran 2014. Web.
Cordesman, A. Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Broader Strategic Context. Washington: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2009. Print.
Encyclopedia of the Nations: Iran 2005. Web.
Kagan, F. 2006. Political Structures of Iran. Web.
Price, M. 2001. Codes of Behavior, Iranian Experience. Web.
Salehi-Isfahani, D. “Demographic Factors in Iran’s Economic Development.” Social Research 67.2 (2000): 599-620. Print.
Swan, D. 2008. Problems Facing Iran’s Stability: Economic Challenges and the Youth Movement. Web.
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