Long-form name: Islamic Republic of Iran

Type: theocratic republic

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

Constitution: 2-3 December 1979

Legal system: the new Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government

National holiday: Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

Branches: Ayatollah ol-Ozma Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, provides general guidance for the government, which is divided into executive, unicameral legislature (Islamic Consultative Assembly), and judicial branches

Leaders: @m5Chief of State--President Ali Akbar RAFSANJANI (since 3 August 1989); @m5Head of Government--Prime Minister Mir Hosein MUSAVI-KHAMENEI (since 31 October 1981)

Suffrage: universal over age 15

Elections: election to select an Assembly of Experts to name Khomeini's successor held in December 1982; election to select a president held in August 1985; parliamentary election held in 1988; next presidential election scheduled for the summer of 1989; next parliamentary election in April 1992; next election to Assembly of Experts in 1989

Political parties and leaders: no officially recognized parties, although government recently announced it will accept applications to form parties

Voting strength: reliable figures not available

Communists: 1,000 to 2,000 est. hardcore; 15,000 to 20,000 est. sympathizers; crackdown in 1983 crippled the party; trials of captured leaders began in late 1983 and remain incomplete

Other political or pressure groups: Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), People's Fedayeen, and Kurdish Democratic Party are armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Fedayeen Islam Organization, Hizballah, Hojjatiyeh Society, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, and Tehran Militant Clergy Association

Member of: CCC, Economic Cooperation Organization, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, IDA, IDB, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, International Chamber of Commerce, IPU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, WHO

Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is Algeria--Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 965-4990; US--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; @m5Allah 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

NOTE: The information regarding Iran on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Iran Government 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Iran Government 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.