Capital: Tehran
Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Azarbayjan-e Bakhtari, Azarbayjan-e Khavari, Bakhtaran, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmadi, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan

Independence: 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
National holiday: Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

Constitution: 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership

Legal system: the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government
Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
supreme leader and functional chief of state: Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989); supreme leader (velayat-e faqih)
head of government: President Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI (since 3 August 1989); election last held June 1993 (next to be held June-July 1997); results - Ali Akbar HASHEMI-RAFSANJANI was elected with 63% of the vote
cabinet: Council of Ministers; selected by the president with legislative approval

Legislative branch: unicameral
Islamic Consultative Assembly: (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami) elections last held 8 April 1992 (next to be held April 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (270 seats total) number of seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: there are at least 76 licensed parties; the three most important are - Tehran Militant Clergy Association, Mohammad Reza MAHDAVI-KANI; Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; Fedaiyin Islam Organization, Sadeq KHALKHALI
Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Hizballah, Hojjatiyeh Society, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Kurdish Democratic Party; the Society for the Defense of Freedom
Member of: CCC, CP, ESCAP, ECO, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC
chancery: Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: (202) 965-4990
US diplomatic representation: protecting power in Iran is Switzerland

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red is centered in the white band; Allah Alkbar (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

NOTE: The information regarding Iran on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Iran Government 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Iran Government 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.