Capital: Tehran Population: 70.4 million Area: 1,648,195 km²	Iran
2002 Busan Asian Games: 8 Gold, 14 Silver, 14 Bronze; Rank 10/44 2004 Athens Olympics: 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze; Rank 29/201 2005 Asian Indoor Game I: 3 Gold, 5 Silver, 2 Bronze; Rank 11/45 2007 Asian Indoor Game II: 4 Gold, 4 Silver, 9 Bronze; Rank 8/45 2008 Beijing Olympics: 1 Gold, 1 Bronze; Rank 51 /204

ABOUT

Iran formally known as Persia is located bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan.

Iran means land of the Aryans and gained its independence on 1 April 1979 when the Islamic Republic of Iran was proclaimed. The capital of Iran is Tehran.

Its main exports are Petroleum, carpets and agricultural products; has many tourist attractions.

There are ancient towns, mosques, museums and archaeological sites such as Meidan Emam (Naghsh-e Jahan) Square, Ali Qapu Palace, The Palace of Roses and the Central Bank to name but a few.

Iran’s flag has three equal horizontal bands of green, white, and red; the national emblem, a representation of the word Allah is centred in the flag and; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) is repeated 11 times along the edge of each horizontal band in white and red respectively.

CULTURAL

Iran is one of the world's most mountainous countries and of the Iranian Plateau with the exception of the coasts of the Caspian Sea and Khuzestan.

It has a wide variety of wildlife including bears, wild pigs, wolves, panthers, Eurasian lynx, and foxes.

Other domestic animals include sheep, goats, cattle, horses, water buffalo, donkeys, and camels.

The birds which are native to Iran are pheasants, partridges, eagles and falcons.

The Culture of Iran is a mix of Islamic and ancient pre-Islamic and has been a predominant culture of the Middle East and Central Asia, with Persian considered the language of intellectuals, religion and populace.

SPORTS

Football is by far one of the most popular sports in Iran but polo and wrestling are more traditional.

Other popular sports include skiing, martial arts, basketball, volleyball and futsal. Futsal is a form of indoor football played by two teams of five.

It is played on a hard court surface delimited by lines and played with a smaller ball with less bounce.