Islamic Republic of Iran

Islamic Republic of Iran جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Persian) Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: اَللَّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ Allāhu ʾakbar (Takbir) "God is the Greatest" (de jure) استقلال، آزادی، جمهوری اسلامی Esteqlâl, Âzâdi, Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi "Independence, freedom, the Islamic Republic" (de facto)
Anthem: مهر خاوران Mehre khāvarān "Eastern Sun"
Capital and largest city	Tehran
Official languages	Persian
Mode of production	State, bureaucrat capitalism
Government	Unitary bourgeois theocratic autocratic regime
• Supreme Leader	Ali Khamenei
• President	Masoud Pezeshkian
• Vice President	Mohammad Reza Aref
History
• Median kingdom	circa 678 BC
• Achaemenid Empire	550 BC
• Parthian Empire	247 BC
• Sasanian Empire	224 AD
• Iranian Intermezzo	821
• Safavid Iran	22 December 1501
• Afsharid Iran	22 January 1736
• Zand Iran	1751
• Qajar Iran	20 March 1794
• Constitutional Revolution	12 December 1905
• Pahlavi Iran	15 December 1925
• Iranian Revolution	11 February 1979
• Current constitution	3 December 1979
• Constitution amendment	28 July 1989
Area
• Total	1,648,195 km² (17th)
Population
• 2025 estimate	92,417,681
• Density	52 km² (132nd)

Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), is a reactionary religious fundamentalist state in West Asia. As of 2025, the country has a population of 92,417,681 and a land area of 1,648,195 km², making it the sixth-largest country in Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan and Afghanistan to its east, Turkmenistan to its northeast, Armenia, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan to its northwest, and Iraq to its west.

Iran is deeply aligned with the eastern camp of imperialism represented by the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China.

History

Monarchy

For centuries, Iran has been ruled by multiple Islamic monarchies, including the Safavids, Afsharids, and Zands. After a coup d'état in 1921, the Qajar dynasty was replaced with the Pahlavi dynasty. In 1951, under Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, the Iranian parliament voted to nationalize the British-owned oil industry in addition to introducing various social democratic reforms. In 1953, the Mosaddegh government was overthrown by the Western imperialists, namely the CIA and MI6, and General Fazlollah Zahedi was appointed Prime Minister. The coup was executed to protect Anglo-American oil interests and a strongly anti-communist regime was instituted.

Islamic Revolution

Main article: Islamic Revolution

The monarchist regime would continue until the late 1970s, when an opposing bourgeois movement led by religious cleric Ruhollah Khomeini would gain power of the country in 1979, forming the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran and forcing the monarchy into exile.

Foreign affairs

"In foreign policy, the preference of the East over the West, the preference of the neighbor over the distant, the preference nations and countries that have something in common with us over others is one of our priorities today" —Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tabriz Speech 2018

Support for Russian imperialism

Iran has supported the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine diplomatically and militarily, sending large amounts of supplies and munitions to Russian forces, including selling missiles and drones to Russia which would go on to be used against civilian targets.

State repression

The Islamic Republic of Iran has committed various crimes against humanity and persecutions targeting multiple demographics.

Anti-communism

The leadership and founders of the IRI have been consistent anti-communists.

Since the late 1980s, the theocratic government of Iran has secretly executed thousands of political dissidents, many of whom communists, and put them in unmarked mass graves. The minimum number of victims stands at 5,000.