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 Known as Persia until
1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling
shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established
a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority
vested in a learned religious scholar. A group of Iranian students
seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it
until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive
war with Iraq over disputed territory. Over the past decade, popular
dissatisfaction with the government, driven by demographic changes,
restrictive social policies, and poor economic conditions, has
created a powerful and enduring pressure for political reform. |
Location:
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Middle East, bordering the Gulf
of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and
Pakistan
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Climate:
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Mostly
arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
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Borders:
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Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35
km, Azerbaijan-proper 432 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km,
Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992
km
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