Administrative divisions
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31 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Alborz, Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan-e Sharqi (East Azerbaijan), Bushehr, Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Jonubi (South Khorasan), Khorasan-e Razavi (Razavi Khorasan), Khorasan-e Shomali (North Khorasan), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan
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2013 |
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Capital city
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Geographic coordinates
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35 40 N, 51 25 E
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2008 |
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Capital city
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Name
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Tehran
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2011 |
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Constitution
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previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979; amended 1989
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2013 |
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Executive branch
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Cabinet
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Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more sensitive ministries
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2013 |
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Executive branch
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Chief of state
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Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
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2013 |
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Executive branch
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Head of government
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President Hasan Fereidun RUHANI (since 3 August 2013); First Vice President Mohammad Reza RAHIMI (since 13 September 2009)
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2013 |
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Government type
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theocratic republic
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2013 |
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International organization participation
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CICA, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, SAARC (observer), SCO (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
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2013 |
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Judicial branch
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The Supreme Court (Qeveh Qazaieh) and the four-member High Council of the Judiciary have a single head and overlapping responsibilities; together they supervise the enforcement of all laws and establish judicial and legal policies; lower courts include a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special administrative court
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2012 |
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Legal system
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Shia Islamic law
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2014 |
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Legislative branch
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unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami or Majles
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2011 |
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Political parties and leaders
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note: formal political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in Iran and most conservatives still prefer to work through political pressure groups rather than parties; often political parties or coalitions are formed prior to elections and disbanded soon thereafter; a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad Front, which includes political parties as well as less formal groups and organizations, achieved considerable success in elections for the sixth Majles in early 2000; groups in the coalition included the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran), Solidarity Party, Islamic Labor Party, Mardom Salari, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO), and Militant Clerics Society (MCS; Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh Majles elections in early 2004 but boycotted them after 80 incumbent reformists were disqualified; following his defeat in the 2005 presidential elections, former MCS Secretary General and sixth Majles Speaker Mehdi KARUBI formed the National Trust Party; a new conservative group, Islamic Iran Developers Coalition (Abadgaran), took a leading position in the new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in February 2004; ahead of the 2008 Majles elections, traditional and hardline conservatives attempted to close ranks under the United Front of Principlists and the Broad Popular Coalition of Principlists; several reformist groups, such as the MIRO and the IIPF, also came together as a reformist coalition in advance of the 2008 Majles elections; the IIPF has repeatedly complained that the overwhelming majority of its candidates were unfairly disqualified from the 2008 elections
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2013 |
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Political pressure groups and leaders
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groups that generally support the Islamic Republic: Ansar-e Hizballah- Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh) Islamic Engineers Society Tehran Militant Clergy Association (MCA; Ruhaniyat)
active pro-reform student group: Office of Strengthening Unity (OSU)
opposition groups: Freedom Movement of Iran Green Path movement [Mehdi KARUBI, Mir-Hosein MUSAVI] Marz-e Por Gohar National Front various ethnic and monarchist organizations
armed political groups repressed by the government: Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) Jundallah Komala Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO) People's Fedayeen People's Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK)
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2013 |
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Suffrage
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18 years of age; universal
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2013 |
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