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Iran (help·info) (Persian: ايران , Īrān), officially
the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ايران ,
transliteration: Jomhūrī-ye Eslāmī-ye Īrān), and formerly known as Persia in
the West, is a southwest Asian country located in the Middle East. Iran
borders Armenia, Azerbaijan (including its Nakhichevan exclave) and
Turkmenistan to the north, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, and Turkey
and Iraq to the west. In addition, it borders the Persian Gulf, across which
lie Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab
Emirates. Shi'a Islam is the official state religion and Persian the
official language. |
