Sen. Cruz: Iran #39;s UN nomination is a slap in the face
CNN #39;s Jake Tapper talks with Senator Ted Cruz about the Fort Hood shooting and Iran #39;s U.N. ambassador nomination. CNN #39;s Jake Tapper talks with Senator Ted Cr...
By: News
Excerpt from:
Sen. Cruz: Iran's UN nomination is a slap in the face - Video
Missing American in Iran was Working for CIA
Missing American in Iran was Working for CIA videolarn The family of an American Bob Levinson, who disappeared in Iran 7 years ago, is still holding out ho...
By: NEWS Official
Read the original post:
Missing American in Iran was Working for CIA - Video
Iran defeat USA in free style wrestling World Cup in Los Angeles
By: MMORPG Arena
Read this article:
Iran defeat USA in free style wrestling World Cup in Los Angeles - Video
Coordinates: 32N 53E / 32N 53E / 32; 53
Iran (i//[10] or //;[11]Persian: [in]( listen)), also known as Persia (// or //),[11][12] officially the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1980, is a country in Western Asia.[13][14][15] It is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, with Kazakhstan and Russia across the Caspian Sea; on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; on the west by Iraq; and on the northwest by Turkey. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195km2 (636,372sqmi), it is the second-largest nation in the Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world; with over 77 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 17th most populous nation.[13][16] It is the only country that has both a Caspian Sea and Indian Ocean coastline. Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia and the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations,[17][18] beginning with the formation of the Proto-Elamite and Elamite kingdom in 3200 2800BCE. The Iranian Medes unified the country into the first of many empires in 625BCE, after which it became the dominant cultural and political power in the region.[3] Iran reached the pinnacle of its power during the Achaemenid Empire (First Persian Empire) founded by Cyrus the Great in 550BCE, which at its greatest extent comprised major portions of the ancient world, stretching from Thrace and Macedon on the northeastern border of Greece in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen.[19] The empire collapsed in 330BCE following the conquests of Alexander the Great. The area eventually regained influence under the Parthian Empire and rose to prominence once more after the establishment of the Sasanian dynasty (Neo-Persian empire) in 224CE, under which Iran became one of the leading powers in the world along with the Byzantine Empire for the next four centuries.
Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism were largely replaced after Rashidun Muslims invaded Persia in 633CE, and conquered it by 651CE.[20] Iran thereafter played a vital role in the subsequent Islamic Golden Age, producing numerous influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. The emergence in 1501 of the Safavid dynasty, which promoted the Twelver school of thought as the official religion, marked one of the most important turning points in Iranian and Muslim history.[5][21][22] It also culminated into tensions, which in 1514 led to the Battle of Chaldiran. The Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 established the nation's first parliament, which operated within a constitutional monarchy. Following a coup d'tat instigated by the UK and the US in 1953, Iran gradually became autocratic. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression culminated in the Iranian Revolution, which led to the establishment of an Islamic republic on 1April 1979.[16][23]
Tehran is the capital and largest city, serving as the cultural, commercial, and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a major regional and middle power,[24][25] exerting considerable influence in international energy security and the world economy through its large reserves of fossil fuels, which include the largest natural gas supply in the world and the fourth-largest proven petroleum reserves.[26][27] It hosts Asia's fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[28] Globally, it ranks 8th in the world for the amount of books published per year, and was ranked first in scientific progress in the world in 2011.[29][30][31]
Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC and OPEC. Its unique political system, based on the 1979 constitution, combines elements of a parliamentary democracy with a religious theocracy run by the country's clergy, wherein the Supreme Leader wields significant influence. A multicultural nation comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shi'ites, the Iranian rial is its currency, and Persian is the official language.[32]
The name of Iran () is the Modern Persian derivative from the Proto-Iranian term Aryn, meaning "Land of the Aryans", first attested in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition.[33][34][35][36] The term rn is found to refer to Iran in a 3rd-century Sassanid inscription, and the Parthian inscription that accompanies it uses the Parthian term "aryn" in reference to Iranians.[37]
Historically Iran has been referred to as "Persia" or similar (La Perse, Persien, Perzi, etc.) by the Western world, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis (), meaning land of the Persians. In 1935 Rez Shh requested that the international community refer to the country as Iran. Opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and in 1959 both names were to be used interchangeably.[38] Today both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.[39]
The historical and cultural wider usage of "Iran" is not restricted to the modern state proper.[40][41][42] Irnshahr[43] or Irnzamn (Greater Iran)[44] corresponded to territories of Iranian cultural or linguistic zones. Besides modern Iran, it included portions of the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Eastern Arabia, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.
The earliest archaeological artifacts in Iran, like those excavated at the Kashafrud and Ganj Par sites, attest to a human presence in Iran since the Lower Paleolithic era.[45]Neanderthal artifacts dating back to the Middle Paleolithic period have been found mainly in the Zagros region at sites such as Warwasi and Yafteh Cave.[46][47][pageneeded] Early agricultural communities began to flourish in Iran at around 8000BCE,[48][49] with settlements such as Chogha Bonut, Susa and Chogha Mish developing in the Zagros region.[50][pageneeded][51][52]
Originally posted here:
Iran - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apr. 15, 2014
Iran says it has complained to the United Nations over United States' refusal to grant a visa to Hamid Aboutalebi, its choice for ambassador, due to his role in the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979; UN officials say no such complaint has been received.MORE
Richard Nelson Frye, renowned American scholar of Iran who died in March in Boston at age 94, wanted to be buried on bank of idyllic Zayandeh River in Iran, but his plan has run up against Tehran's small but influential faction of hard-liners.MORE
Trade lawyers and diplomatic analysts say Iran has seen very limited sanctions relief amid temporary deal allowing increased economic ties during negotiations for permanent nuclear agreement; foreign business interest has remained extremely limited.MORE
William J Burns, career diplomat who led Obama administration's back-channel negotiations with Iran, plans to step down as the State Dept's second-ranking official in October.MORE
Lawyer for Amir Hekmati, former American Marine incarcerated in Iran, says Hekmati was secretly retried by a revolutionary court in December 2013 and given a 10-year prison term for collaborating with the American government; Hekmati was sentenced to death previously only to have charged against him overturned.MORE
United States lawmakers vote to deny visa for Hamid Aboutalebi, Iran's choice for United Nations ambassador, because of the role he played in the 1979 American hostage crisis.MORE
Joint statement issued at end of latest round of talks on Iranian nuclear dispute suggests that extensive disagreements remain; asserts that 'intensive work' remains between Iran and the group of six major powers negotiating a permanent agreement in order to complete draft accord by their self-imposed deadline.MORE
Obama administration toughens its objections to Iran's nomination of Hamid Aboutalebi for United Nations ambassador, asserting that choice is 'not viable' because of his role in 1979-81 hostage crisis; move threatens to turn into new confrontation as administration seeks to improve diplomatic climate for talks on Iran's disputed nuclear program.MORE
Senate votes unanimously to bar Hamid Aboutalebi, Iran's newly named ambassador to the United Nations, from entering the United States, charging that he was involved in the hostage-taking at the United States Embassy in Tehran in 1979.MORE
Read more from the original source:
Iran News - Breaking World Iran News - The New York Times