Short answers, pulled from the story.
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and historically known as Persia, is a country in West Asia with a population of over 92 million. It borders Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, along with the Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf. Tehran is its capital and largest city.
Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire, the largest-ever Iranian state, after the Achaemenids defeated the Medes. The empire reached its territorial height in the 6th century BC and was conquered by Alexander the Great by 331 BC.
The Iranian Revolution overthrew the monarchy in 1979, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the country's first supreme leader. A referendum on the 31st of March 1979 approved the transition to an Islamic republic by a margin of 99.31%.
The Iran-Iraq War began on the 22nd of September 1980 when Iraq invaded Iran at Khuzestan, and it continued until 1988 when Khomeini accepted a UN truce. The eight-year war killed approximately 500,000 people, and Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against Iranians.
Ultimate authority in Iran is vested in the Supreme Leader, known as the Rahbar, who is head of state, commands the armed forces, and appoints the heads of the judiciary and the Guardian Council. The president is elected for four years but candidates must first be approved by the 12-member Guardian Council.
Ali Khamenei was assassinated on the 28th of February 2026 during coordinated United States and Israeli strikes against Iran, and his death was confirmed by the Iranian government on the 1st of March. On the 8th of March, the 88-person Assembly of Experts announced that his son Mojtaba Khamenei was elected Supreme Leader in a vote it called unanimous.
Iran holds 10% of the world's oil reserves and 15% of gas reserves, ranking 3rd in oil reserves and as OPEC's 2nd largest exporter. Its economy is centrally planned with significant state ownership in key sectors, and petroleum is its main source of foreign currency.