Iran

Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan

32 00 N, 53 00 E

Middle East

1,648,195 sq km

1,531,595 sq km

116,600 sq km

Almost 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska

5,894 km

Afghanistan 921 km; Armenia 44 km; Azerbaijan 689 km; Iraq 1,599 km; Pakistan 959 km; Turkey 534 km; Turkmenistan 1,148 km

2,440 km

12 nm

24 nm

Bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf

Natural prolongation

Mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

Rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts

Kuh-e Damavand 5,625 m

Caspian Sea -28 m

1,305 m

Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur

29% (2023 est.)

Arable land: 9.7% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops: 1.2% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture: 18.2% (2023 est.)

6.6% (2023 est.)

64.4% (2023 est.)

79,721 sq km (2020)

Caspian Sea (shared with Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan) - 374,000 sq km; Lake Urmia - 5,200 sq km; Lake Namak - 750 sq km

Euphrates (shared with Turkey [s], Syria, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris (shared with Turkey, Syria, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km; Helmand (shared with Afghanistan [s]) - 1,130 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

(Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)

Population is concentrated in the north, northwest, and west, reflecting the position of the Zagros and Elburz Mountains; the vast, dry areas in the center and eastern parts of the country, around the deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, have a much lower population density

Periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes

Strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz

89,177,357 (2025 est.)

45,098,223

44,079,134

Iranian(s)

Iranian

Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen, and Turkic tribes

Persian Farsi (official), Azeri and other Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic

چکیده نامه جهان، منبعی ضروری برای کسب اطلاعات کلی جهان (Persian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Muslim (official) 98.5%, Christian 0.7%, Baha'i 0.3%, agnostic 0.3%, other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Hindu) 0.2% (2020 est.)

23.3% (male 10,512,797/female 10,040,282)

69.8% (male 31,413,125/female 30,267,241)

7% (2024 est.) (male 2,869,617/female 3,283,875)

42.8 (2025 est.)

30.4 (2025 est.)

12.4 (2025 est.)

8.1 (2025 est.)

35.2 years (2025 est.)

33.6 years

34.1 years

-0.87% (2025 est.)

11.24 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-15.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Population is concentrated in the north, northwest, and west, reflecting the position of the Zagros and Elburz Mountains; the vast, dry areas in the center and eastern parts of the country, around the deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, have a much lower population density

77.3% of total population (2023)

1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

9.500 million TEHRAN (capital), 3.368 million Mashhad, 2.258 million Esfahan, 1.721 million Shiraz, 1.661 million Tabriz, 1.594 million Karaj (2023)

1.05 male(s)/female

1.05 male(s)/female

1.04 male(s)/female

0.87 male(s)/female

1.03 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

16 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

9.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

15.4 deaths/1,000 live births

13.2 deaths/1,000 live births

75.6 years (2024 est.)

74.3 years

77.1 years

1.53 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.74 (2025 est.)

Urban: 98.7% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 94.4% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 97.7% of population (2022 est.)

Urban: 1.3% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 5.6% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 2.3% of population (2022 est.)

5.8% of GDP (2021)

19% of national budget (2022 est.)

1.81 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

1.9 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)

Urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 0% of population (2022 est.)

25.8% (2016)

0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

13.3% (2025 est.)

23.8% (2025 est.)

2.8% (2025 est.)

4.3% (2017 est.)

69.6% (2022 est.)

2.8% of GDP (2023 est.)

18.8% national budget (2022 est.)

86% (2016 est.)

90% (2016 est.)

81% (2016 est.)

14 years (2020 est.)

14 years (2020 est.)

14 years (2020 est.)

Air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate potable water; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

29% (2023 est.)

Arable land: 9.7% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops: 1.2% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture: 18.2% (2023 est.)

6.6% (2023 est.)

64.4% (2023 est.)

77.3% of total population (2023)

1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

823.364 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

7.136 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

316.922 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

499.306 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

36.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

6,208.1 kt (2022-2024 est.)

819.7 kt (2019-2021 est.)

832.7 kt (2019-2021 est.)

37.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)

17.885 million tons (2024 est.)

16.8% (2022 est.)

6.2 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

1.1 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

86 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

137 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

3

Aras; Qeshm Island; Tabas (2023)

Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran

Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran

Iran

Persia

The name derives from the Sanskrit word arya, referring to people living in a mountainous land, from the root word ar-, or "mountain;" the former name, Persia, was originally "Pars" (or the Arabic-influenced variant "Fars") from the Old Persian parsi, meaning "pure"

Theocratic republic

Tehran

35 42 N, 51 25 E

UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC)

Does not observe daylight savings time

The name probably means "flat" or "lower," referring to its location in the foothills of the Elburz Mountains

31 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Alborz, Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan-e Sharqi (East Azerbaijan), Bushehr, Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Jonubi (South Khorasan), Khorasan-e Razavi (Razavi Khorasan), Khorasan-e Shomali (North Khorasan), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan

Religious system based on secular and Islamic law

Previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979

Proposed by the supreme leader – after consultation with the Exigency Council – and submitted as an edict to the "Council for Revision of the Constitution," a body consisting of various executive, legislative, judicial, and academic leaders and members; passage requires absolute majority vote in a referendum and approval of the supreme leader; articles including Iran’s political system, its religious basis, and its form of government cannot be amended

Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

No

The father must be a citizen of Iran

No

5 years

18 years of age; universal

Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)

President Masoud PEZESHKIAN (since 30 July 2024)

Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the supreme leader has some control over appointments to several ministries

Supreme leader appointed for life by Assembly of Experts; president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term and an additional nonconsecutive term)

28 June 2024, with runoff held on 5 July 2024

2024: first round results - Masoud PEZESHKIAN (independent) 44.4%, Saeed JALILI (Front of Islamic Revolution Stability) 40.4%, Mohammad Baqer QAKIBAF (Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran) 14.3%, other 0.9%; second round results - Masoud PEZESHKIAN elected; Masoud PEZESHKIAN 54.8%, Saeed JALILI 45.2% 2021: Ebrahim RAISI elected president; percent of vote - Ebrahim RAISI (independent) 72.4%, Mohsen REZAI (RFII) 13.8%, Abbdolnaser HEMATI (ECP) 9.8%, Amir-Hosein Qazizadeh-HASHEMI (Islamic Law Party) 4%

Islamic Parliament of Iran (Majles Shoraye Eslami)

Unicameral

290 (all directly elected)

Plurality/majority

Full renewal

4 years

3/1/2024 to 5/10/2024

4.9%

February 2028

Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and organized into 42 two-bench branches, each with a justice and a judge)

Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the High Judicial Council (HJC), a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief justice, the prosecutor general, and 3 clergy, in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court; president appointed for a single, renewable 5-year term; other judges appointed by the HJC; judge tenure NA

Penal Courts I and II; Islamic Revolutionary Courts; Courts of Peace; Special Clerical Court (functions outside the judicial system and handles cases involving clerics); military courts

Combatant Clergy Association (an active political group) Executives of Construction Party Front of Islamic Revolutionary Stability Islamic Coalition Party Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran Militant Clerics Society (Majma-e Ruhaniyoun-e Mobarez) or MRM Moderation and Development Party National Trust Party (Hezb-e E'temad-eMelli) or HEM Progress and Justice Society Union of Islamic Iran People's Party (Hezb-e Ettehad-e Iran-e Eslami)

None note: Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Embassy of Pakistan, 1250 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073; email: requests@daftar.org; info@daftarwashington.com; website: https://daftar.org/

None; the US Interests Section is located in the Embassy of Switzerland; US Foreign Interests Section, Embassy of Switzerland, Pasdaran, Shahid Mousavi Street (Golestan 5th), Corner of Paydarfard Street, No. 55, Tehran

BRICS, CICA, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, SAARC (observer), SCO (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed); notable earlier dates: ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid or Persian Empire established); A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavid dynasty); 1794 (beginning of Qajar dynasty); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the PAHLAVI dynasty)

Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; centered in the white band is the red national emblem, a stylization of the word Allah in the shape of a tulip (a symbol of martyrdom); ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band meaning: green is the color of Islam and also represents growth, white stands for honesty and peace, and red for bravery and martyrdom

Lion

Green, white, red

"Soroud-e Melli-ye Jomhouri-ye Eslami-ye Iran" (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran)

Multiple authors/Hassan RIAHI

Adopted 1990

29 (27 cultural, 2 natural)

Persepolis (c); Tchogha Zanbil (c); Bam and its Cultural Landscape (c); Golestan Palace (c); Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System (c); Pasargadae (c); Hyrcanian Forests (n); Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex (c); Meidan Emam, Esfahan (c); Bisotun (c); Takht-e Soleyman (c); Soltaniyeh(c); Bisotun (c); Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran(c); Sheikh Safi al-din Khānegāh and Shrine Ensemble in Ardabil (c); The Persian Garden (c); Gonbad-e Qābus (c); Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan (c); Shahr-i Sokhta (c); Cultural Landscape of Maymand (c); Susa (c); Lut Desert (n);The Persian Qanat (c); Historic City of Yazd (c); Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region (c); Cultural Landscape of Hawraman/Uramanat (c); Trans-Iranian Railway (c); The Persian Caravanserai (c); Hegmataneh (c); Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley (c)

Traditionally state-controlled economy but reforming state-owned financial entities; strong oil/gas, agricultural, and service sectors; recent massive inflation due to exchange rate depreciation, international sanctions, and investor uncertainty; increasing poverty

$1.486 trillion (2024 est.)

$1.442 trillion (2023 est.)

$1.373 trillion (2022 est.)

3% (2024 est.)

5% (2023 est.)

3.8% (2022 est.)

$16,200 (2024 est.)

$15,900 (2023 est.)

$15,300 (2022 est.)

$436.906 billion (2024 est.)

32.5% (2024 est.)

44.6% (2023 est.)

43.5% (2022 est.)

13% (2024 est.)

36.4% (2024 est.)

47.9% (2024 est.)

50.5% (2024 est.)

12.9% (2024 est.)

26.7% (2024 est.)

13.3% (2024 est.)

22.9% (2024 est.)

-26.8% (2024 est.)

Wheat, sugarcane, milk, sugar beets, rice, tomatoes, barley, potatoes, oranges, apples (2023)

Petroleum, petrochemicals, gas, fertilizer, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and nonferrous metal fabrication, armaments

2.8% (2024 est.)

28.575 million (2024 est.)

9.2% (2024 est.)

9.1% (2023 est.)

9.1% (2022 est.)

22.8% (2024 est.)

20% (2024 est.)

35.5% (2024 est.)

35.9 (2023 est.)

27.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

0.5% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

2.8% (2023 est.)

28.2% (2023 est.)

0% of GDP (2023 est.)

0% of GDP (2022 est.)

0% of GDP (2021 est.)

$60.714 billion (2019 est.)

$90.238 billion (2019 est.)

39.5% of GDP (2017 est.)

$100.031 billion (2024 est.)

$97.924 billion (2023 est.)

$105.752 billion (2022 est.)

China 35%, Turkey 16%, India 8%, Pakistan 7%, Armenia 5% (2023)

Plastics, iron ore, alcohols, natural gas, refined copper (2023)

$117.176 billion (2024 est.)

$113.21 billion (2023 est.)

$97.729 billion (2022 est.)

China 34%, UAE 20%, Turkey 11%, Brazil 8%, Germany 4% (2023)

Broadcasting equipment, vehicle parts/accessories, corn, soybeans, vehicle bodies (2023)

$6.759 billion (2023 est.)

Iranian rials (IRR) per US dollar -

42,000 (2023 est.)

42,000 (2022 est.)

42,000 (2021 est.)

42,000 (2020 est.)

42,000 (2019 est.)

100% (2022 est.)

86.058 million kW (2023 est.)

335.175 billion kWh (2023 est.)

5.723 billion kWh (2023 est.)

3.136 billion kWh (2023 est.)

37.948 billion kWh (2023 est.)

94.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

1.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

3.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

1 (2025)

1 (2025)

0.92GW (2025 est.)

1.7% (2023 est.)

2.209 million metric tons (2023 est.)

3.032 million metric tons (2023 est.)

212,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

1.098 million metric tons (2023 est.)

1.203 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

4.112 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

2.415 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

208.6 billion barrels (2021 est.)

265.088 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

252.353 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

14.698 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

2.274 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

33.987 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

160.779 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

29.02 million (2023 est.)

32 (2023 est.)

159 million (2024 est.)

174 (2024 est.)

State-run broadcast media with no private, independent broadcasters; Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run TV broadcaster, operates over 60 television channels, over 50 radio stations, and dozens of newspapers and websites; about 20 foreign Persian-language TV stations broadcasting on satellite TV can be seen in Iran; satellite dishes are illegal and sometimes confiscated; most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran (2023)

.ir

80% (2023 est.)

10.9 million (2023 est.)

12 (2023 est.)

EP

177 (2025)

90 (2025)

8,483.5 km (2014)

8,389.5 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (189.5 km electrified)

94 km (2014) 1.676-m gauge

965 (2023)

Bulk carrier 32, container ship 28, general cargo 398, oil tanker 86, other 421

18 (2024)

0

4

6

8

13

Abadan, Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Khorramshahr

The military forces of Iran are divided between the Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC or Sepah): Artesh: Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines), Air Force, Air Defense Forces IRGC: Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines), Aerospace Force (controls strategic missile force), Qods Force (aka Quds Force; special operations), Cyber Electronic Command, Basij Paramilitary Forces Ministry of Interior: Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA) Ministry of Intelligence and Security (2025)

2% of GDP (2024 est.)

2.3% of GDP (2023 est.)

2.5% of GDP (2022 est.)

2.3% of GDP (2021 est.)

2.1% of GDP (2020 est.)

Information varies; up to 600,000 total active armed forces personnel; estimated 400,000 Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (350,000 Ground Forces; 18,000 Navy; 40,000 Air Force/Air Defense Forces); up to estimated 190,000 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (100-150,000 Ground Forces; 20,000 Navy; 15,000 Aerospace Force; 5,000 Qods Force); estimated 90,000 active Basij Paramilitary Forces (2025)

The Iranian military's inventory includes a mix of domestically produced and foreign equipment largely of Chinese, Russian/Soviet, and US origin (US equipment acquired prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979); it also has some military equipment from North Korea such as midget submarines and ballistic missiles; in recent years, Iran has received some newer equipment from Russia; Iran has a defense industry with the capacity to develop, produce, support, and sustain air, land, missile, and naval weapons programs (2025)

16 for voluntary military service for men; military service is compulsory for all Iranian men at age 18 or 19 years of age; compulsory service obligation 14-21 months, depending on the location of service; women exempted from conscription but may volunteer (2025)

Note: Iran maintained a military presence in Syria and recruited, trained, and funded thousands of Syrian and foreign fighters to support the ASAD regime during the Syrian civil war (2011-December 2024)

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was formed in May 1979 in the immediate aftermath of Shah Mohammad Reza PAHLAVI’s fall, as leftists, nationalists, and Islamists jockeyed for power; while the interim prime minister controlled the government and state institutions, such as the Army, followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah KHOMEINI organized counterweights, including the IRGC, to protect the Islamic revolution; the IRGC’s command structure bypassed the elected president and went directly to KHOMEINI; the IRGC played a critical role in helping KHOMEINI consolidate power in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, and it ensured that KHOMEINI's Islamic revolutionary vision prevailed against domestic challenges from nationalists and leftist factions in the scramble for control after the Shah's departure the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88) transformed the IRGC into more of a conventional fighting force with its own ground, air, naval, and special forces, plus control over Iran’s strategic missile and rocket forces; today, the IRGC is a highly institutionalized and parallel military force to Iran’s regular armed forces (Artesh); it is involved in internal security and has influence in the political and economic spheres of Iranian society, as well as Iran’s foreign policy; on the economic front, it owns factories and corporations and subsidiaries in banking, infrastructure, housing, airlines, tourism and other sectors; its special operations forces, known as the Qods/Quds Force, specialize in foreign missions and have provided advice, funding, guidance, material support, training, and weapons to militants in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, as well as extremist groups, including HAMAS, Hizballah, Kata’ib Hizballah, and Palestine Islamic Jihad; the Qods Force also conducts intelligence and reconnaissance operations; note - both the IRGC and the Qods Force have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the US (see Terrorist Organizations under References) the Supreme Council for National Security (SCNS) is the senior-most body for formulating Iran’s foreign and security policy; it is formally chaired by the president, who also appoints the SCNS secretary; its members include the speaker of the Majles, the head of the judiciary, the chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (chief of defense or CHOD), the commanders of the Artesh (regular forces) and IRGC, and the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, interior, and intelligence; the SCNS reports to the supreme leader; the supreme leader is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces the Iranian Armed Forces are divided between the regular forces (Artesh) and the IRGC; the Artesh primarily focuses on defending Iran’s borders and territorial waters from external threats, while the IRGC has a broader mission to defend the Iranian revolution from any foreign or domestic threat; in 1989, Iran established the Armed Forces General Staff to coordinate military action across both the Artesh and the IRGC; Iran also has a joint military headquarters, the Khatam ol-Anbia Central Headquarters, to command the Artesh and IRGC in wartime (2024)

Iranian Space Agency (ISA; created in 2003); Iran Space Research Center (ISRC; established, 2000); Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Aerospace Force (IRGC-ARF) (2024)

Imam Khomeini Space Center (aka Semnan Space Center; Semnan province); Shahroud Space Center (Semnan Province; IRGC-operated); Chabahar Space Center (Sistan and Baluchistan Province; under development) (2025)

Has an ambitious civil and military space program focused on satellites and satellite launch vehicles (SLV); designs, builds, and operates satellites, including communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific; manufactures and operates SLVs; researching and developing other space-related capabilities and technologies in areas such as telecommunications, RS, navigation, and space situational awareness; international sanctions against Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program have severely limited Iran’s cooperation with foreign space agencies and commercial space industries; in recent years, however, it has worked with North Korea and Russia, as well as regional and international space organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization and the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization; Iran was a founding member of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in 1958; has an active private space industry (2025)

1998 - began development of 2-stage satellite/space launch vehicle (SLV) (Safir) 2006 - first successful launch of a small, domestically produced communications and research satellite (Omid) on the Safir SLV 2010 - began developing a more capable 2-stage orbital SLV (Simorgh; aka Safir-2) 2011 - launched first domestically produced remote sensing (RS) satellite (Rasad) on Safir SLV 2020 - placed RS microsatellite (Noor) in orbit on 3-stage SLV (Qased or Messenger) 2021 - first launch of road-mobile 3-stage SLV (Zuljanah) 2022 - completed suborbital test of new small-lift SLV (Quam-100)

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); al-Qa’ida

3,489,257 (2024 est.)

421 (2024 est.)

Tier 3 — Iran does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Iran remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/iran/