All about Iran, useful guide to know how to export to Iran

General Characteristics

About Iran: Iran located in Southwest Asia and the Middle East. Iran is bound by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south and the Caspian Sea to its north. Shi’a Islam is the official religion, and Persian is the official language. Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC.

Throughout history, Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and is a regional power. The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran also known as Persia officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and Azerbaijan.  Northeast neighbor is Turkmenistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan on the east.  The west is connected to Turkey and Iraq. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second-largest country in the Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world. With more than 80 million inhabitants.

It is the only country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The country’s central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Hormuz Strait, make it of great geostrategic importance. Tehran is the country’s capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center.

GDP, or GNP per capita

According to the World Bank 2017, Iran’s last decades’ history can be divided into two main parts. Before and after the Islamic revolution in Feb 1979. Just two years after revolution Iran-Iraq war started and last for 8 years. As shown in following figures clearly we can see a deep and sharp fall in GDP and income indicators caused by revolution and war. Below graphs  present main economic indicators in both current and constant prices (to see figure and graphs download full report)

Minimum wage for Iranian worker, Key wage levels, (US dollars/month).

Following the recent decision of the Supreme Labor Council, the minimum wage in 2019 was determined around 125 dollars per month (15 million Rials per month, exchange rate 1$=120000 Rials ). This statistic is part of a PhD thesis. The figures which obtained via field research and observations in Tehran recently. Also Iranian Student’s News Agency (ISNA) published it. According to ISNA average level of income (wages) in Iran for some different jobs are as follows:(download full report)

Life expectancy in Iran.

According to Statistical Center of Iran, life expectancy is presented as follows:

Source: Statistical Yearbook of Country, Statistical Center of Iran

Constitution of Iran

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replacing the Constitution of 1905. It was amended on 28 July 1989. The constitution has been called a “hybrid” of “theocratic and democratic elements”.  While articles One and Two vest sovereignty in God, article six “mandates popular elections for the presidency and the Majlis, or parliament.” However all democratic procedures and rights are subordinate to the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader, whose powers are spelled out in Chapter Eight.

Supreme leader of Iran

At the top of Iran’s power structure is the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian Revolution, upon Khomeini’s death in 1989. Khomeini and Khamenei are the only two men to have held the office since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979. According to Iran’s Constitution, the Supreme Leader is responsible for the delineation and supervision of “the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” which means that he sets the tone and direction of Iran’s domestic and foreign policies.

The Supreme Leader also is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls the Islamic Republic’s intelligence and security operations; he alone can declare war or peace. He has the power to appoint and dismiss the leaders of the judiciary, the state radio and television networks, and the supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also appoints six of the twelve members of the Council of Guardians, the powerful body that oversees the activities of Parliament and determines which candidates are qualified to run for public office.

ayatollah khamenei, Supreme Leader’s sphere of power is extended through his representatives, an estimated 2,000 of whom are sprinkled throughout all sectors of the government and who serve as the Leader’s clerical field operatives. In some respects the Supreme Leader’s representatives are more powerful than the president’s ministers and have the authority to intervene in any matter of state on the Supreme Leader’s behalf.

refer to the full report to read about Parties, President, Parliament, Assembly of experts, …  

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