COUNTRY PROFILE: IRAN

March 2006

COUNTRY

Formal Name: Islamic Republic of Iran (Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran).

Short Form: Iran.

Term for Citizen(s): Iranian(s).

Capital: Tehran.

Other Major Cities (in order of population): Mashhad, Esfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, Karaj, Ahvaz, Qom, and Kermanshah.

Independence: In the modern era, Iran always has existed as an independent country.

Public Holidays: The national holiday, Islamic Revolution Day, celebrates the victory of the Islamic Revolution on February 11, 1979. Other official holidays are Dawn (the return of Ayatollah Khomeini from 14 years of foreign exile on February 1, 1979), Noruz (Iranian New Year, March 21), Islamic Republic Day (April 1), Thirteenth Day of New Year (April 2), and several Islamic religious holidays that are reckoned in accordance with the lunar calendar and thus do not re-occur on the same dates each year.

Flag: The flag, adopted after the 1978–79 Revolution, features three

horizontal bars, green (on top), white, and red, representing, respectively,

Islam, peace, and courage. The bars are divided by stylized script. The

white bar features a centered, red, abstract representation of the name

Allah in the shape of a tulip.