Size: Iran’s total area is 1.65 million square kilometers, of which 1.64 million square kilometers—an area slightly larger than Alaska—is land mass.

Land Boundaries: Iran is bounded by Afghanistan (936 kilometers), Armenia (35 kilometers), Azerbaijan proper (432 kilometers), Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan enclave (179 kilometers), Iraq (1,458 kilometers), Pakistan (909 kilometers), Turkey (499 kilometers), and Turkmenistan (992 kilometers).

Disputed Territory: Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) dispute sovereignty over three islands in the Persian Gulf that are occupied by Iran.

Length of Coastline: Iran’s coastline includes 2,440 kilometers on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman and 740 kilometers on the Caspian Sea.

Maritime Claims: Iran’s territorial sea extends 12 nautical miles and its contiguous zone, 24 nautical miles. The exclusive economic zone claimed by Iran is determined by bilateral treaties or median lines in the Persian Gulf. The maritime border with Iraq along the Shatt al Arab waterway was established by treaty in 1975 as the median line of the deep-water channel, but the final status of the treaty awaits the conclusion of a peace treaty to replace the 1988 cease-fire agreement between Iran and Iraq. In opposition to at least two of the other four littoral states, Iran advocates a division of the bed of the Caspian Sea that would give Iran control of an area about 20 percent greater than the area it would control under a division based on the actual length of each littoral state’s coastline.

Topography: Iran has rugged mountain chains surrounding several basins collectively known as the Central Plateau. These basins vary in elevation from 900 to 1,525 meters. East of the Central Plateau are two large desert regions, a salt desert in the north and a rock and sand desert in the south. There are lowland areas along the Caspian coast, in Khuzestan Province at the head of the Persian Gulf, and at several dispersed locations along the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman coasts.

Principal Rivers: The main rivers are the Karun, which is 830 kilometers long; the Safid Rud, which is 1,000 kilometers long; the Kharkeh, which is 700 kilometers long; and the Zayandeh Rud, which is 400 kilometers long.

Climate: Iran’s climate is mostly arid and semi-arid, with a humid rain-forest zone along the Caspian coast. Temperatures average between 10° and 25° C in the winter and between 19° and 38° C in the summer.

Natural Resources: About 40 percent of Iran’s territory is considered cultivable if irrigation is available, but because of the lack of water, less than 30 percent of that territory is cultivated. Iran has enormous reserves of oil and natural gas. Oil reserves are estimated at about 130 billion barrels (third in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq), and natural gas reserves are estimated at 20 trillion cubic meters (second in the world to Russia). Mineral resources currently exploited include bauxite, chromium, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, red oxide, salt, strontium, sulfur, turquoise, and uranium.

Land Use: Of Iran’s land surface, 27 percent is classified as meadows and pastures, 11 percent forest and woodland, and 8 percent arable land. The remaining 54 percent is desert or mountains.

Environmental Factors: Especially in urban areas, vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents contribute to poor air quality. Between 1985 and 2005, huge increases in energy consumption tripled carbon emissions. Most cars use leaded gas and lack emissions control equipment. Tehran is rated as one of the world’s most polluted cities. The abundance of fossil fuels has discouraged use of alternative fuels. Much of Iran’s territory suffers from desertification and/or deforestation. Industrial and urban wastewater runoff has contaminated rivers and coastal waters and threatened drinking water supplies. Wetlands and bodies of freshwater increasingly are being destroyed as industry and agriculture expand, and oil and chemical spills have harmed aquatic life in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Iran contends that the international rush to develop oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea presents that region with a new set of environmental threats. Although a Department of Environment has existed since 1971, Iran has not developed a policy of sustainable development because short-term economic goals, particularly support of the oil and gas industries, have taken precedence.

Time Zone: Iran lies in one time zone, which is three and one-half hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

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This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.