Iran

A brief look at this immense country

Image: Mt Damavand - Iran

I wanted to leave aside the war on Iran recently unleashed by President Trump of the USA and just look at what the actual nation of Iran is like. In the UK, it is certainly a much misunderstood nation.

The first things to note is the size - 636,327 square miles or 1,648,195 square kilometres. Iran’s population is around 93 million - (see HERE).

This is larger that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria combined or, in another comparison, Iran is larger than Alaska, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy combined.

It is the 18th largest country in the world and shares borders with many other countries -

Politics and the international situation apart, the nation faces significant challenges - water scarcity, seismic activity, extreme heat , desertification threatening agricultural lands.

The climate is very varied and there are ancient rain forests in the north.

The highest point in Iran is Mr Damavand - 18.402 feet (pictured above).

Numerous sites of historical importance are included in the World Heritage List.

The population almost entirely adheres to the Muslim faith - see Britannica Iran Religion. The Shiʿi clergy have been the predominant political and social force in Iran since the 1979 revolution toppled the Shah and ushered in an Islamic Republic.

Azadi Tower - Tehran - the capital city

Various links:

World Scouting Museum - The failed 1979 Jamboree - Starting on 7 January 1978 and lasting until 11 February 1979, the Iranian or Islamic Revolution ultimately ended with the overthrow of the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1979. The revolution replaced the Imperial State of Iran with the Islamic Republic of Iran. This caused the upcoming 15th World Scout Jamboree to be thrown into peril as Iran was the Host Country.

Iran has over 100 airports - Wikipedia

I found the video (below) fascinating and was well-worth an hour of viewing time.