Iran, historically known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia with 82 million inhabitants. As far as the time is concern, they are nine hours ahead of New York, USA.
The Capital is Tehran. The official language is Persian. Their religion is shia islam. The head leader is Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei .
Note: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the 6th president (August 3, 2005 to August 3, 2013). After his term ended, the 7th president was Hassan Rouhani (August 3, 2013 to August 3, 2021). The 8th president of Iran was Ebrahim Raisi, as of 8.3.2021. His term ended May 9, 2024 because he died in a helicopter crash. After Rouhani's death, the acting president was Mohammad Mokhber ; he assumed office September 23, 2024.
The 9th, and current President of Iran is Masoud Pezeshkian ; he assumed office July 28, 2024.
Around 250,000 to 370,000 Christians reside in Iran, and Christianity is the country's largest recognized minority religion. Most are of Armenian background, as well as a sizable minority of Assyrians. A large number of Iranians have converted to Christianity from the predominant shia islam.
0:00 to 0:36 in the Transcript, Pastor David Lynn on 12.9.22, tells the Iranian man this:
" So this flag that's the old flag of Persia because the Bible says there's coming someone who's from, he's going to be called The Lion of the tribe of Judah. And I noticed that you have a lion [on the Iranian flag] and he's going to be the king of all Kings, I notice you have a crown [on the Iranian glag] and it says when the son of righteousness with healing in his wings will rise up. All of those symbols are in your flag and so I wonder whether long ago the people of Persia who believed in the God of the Bible, they were telling everybody that Jesus - the lion of the tribe of Judah the son with healing in his wings - he will be king of kings will come and liberate the people of Persia...."
Inside Iran: photos , text , and video
The trouble between Iran and the U.S. started in the 1950's. After centuries of being ruled by monarchs [ a hereditary sovereign, as a king, queen, or emperor ] known as the Shahs [ used formerly as a title for the hereditary monarch of Iran ], Iran was moving towards democracy. But the U.S.'s CIA [ U.S.-backed coup in 1953 ] helped get rid of Iran's democratic elected leader in favor of the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, to maintain the West's control over Iranian oil.
Britain initiated the plot in 1952. The Truman administration rejected it, but Pres. Eisenhower approved it shortly after taking office in 1953, because of fears about oil and Communism.
The Shah became known as surpressing his people. The people revolted in 1979.
A cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini [ Note: He was the religious leader of Iran from 1979 until he died in 1989. He is best known for his political and social reforms, which placed the Islamic faith at the center of almost all activities.] returned to Iran from exile to lead the Islamic revolution. The U.S. gave the Shah refuge, and in retribution a group of Iranian students ceased the U.S. Embassy in Iran's capital, Tehran and held more than 50 Americans hostage for 444 days. This set the tone for U.S.-Iranian relations for the next 30 years.
When Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in 1979 and took 66 Americans hostage, Ayatollah Khomeini released all the Black Americans early — citing them as already oppressed by the U.S. government. 52 others stayed for 444 days. This single fact rewrites how you see the entire crisis.
Worsening the tensions, U.S. supported Iraq in its war against Iran in the 1980's when hundreds of thousands of Iranians were killed, some with chemical weapons. The Iranians resented this greatly - U.S. took the side of a brutal dictator like Saddam Hussein, who invaded their country illegally.
Mistrust runs deep on both sides with the U.S. pointing to Iran on its poor record on human rights and its support for terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
"states like these and their terror allies constitute an axis of evil arming to threaten the peace of the world." - George W. Bush
Relations worsen further after the election of Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Presidential term: August 3, 2005 – August 3, 2013). He's known for his anti-U.S. and anti-Israel diatribes [ a bitter, sharply abusive denunciation, attack, or criticism ]. And for his repeated questioning of the Holocaust.
But seeds of change may now be taking root in Iran. Of the 70 million people in Iran, two-third are under the age of 30. Many are wary about talking openly, but some are willing to tell a stranger about the change they want.
The capital is Tehran. The official language is Persian. The president is Hassan Rouhani . He succeeded Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (8.3.05 to 8.3.13).
- May 14, 2011: The literal use of Sharia law of an "eye for eye" was granted to victim Ameneh Bahrami, 30, after Majid Movahedi, 27, was convicted of the horrific 2004 attack.
- Rights group urges Iran not to blind woman's attacker with acid.
- Iranian Ameneh Bahrami pardoned the man (Majid Movahedi) who was convicted of throwing acid in her face, leaving her blind and disfigured.
Iran nuclear deal is called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It's between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers, including the United States, UK, France, China and Russia plus Germany. Under the deal, Iran must reduce its uranium stockpile by roughly 98%, phase out its centrifuges over the next 15 years, limit research activities, allow heightened inspections and ship spent fuel outside of the country. In return, many of the international sanction imposed on Iran were lifted.
11.13.17: Powerful Iran-Iraq earthquake is deadliest of 2017.
8.22.18: In May, the U.S. announced it was abandoning the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposing nuclear-related sanctions, threatening global companies with heavy penalties if they continue to operate in Iran.
1.5.2020: An Iranian official responds to pres. Trump giving orders to kill top Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
1.5.2020: Colin Kaepernick Tweets About ‘American Terrorist Attacks’ following Iran Strike.
On 2.28.26 the United States and Israel launched coordinated military operations against the Iranian regime. The action, focused on the regime's nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and leadership, followed a conclusion reached in Washington and Jerusalem that diplomacy had been exhausted, and that a nuclear-armed Iran posed an unacceptable security threat to America, Israel and America’s Arab allies, and the world.
Iran responded by launching waves of ballistic missiles and drones at Israeli population centers and at Arab Gulf states that host U.S. forces, including Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. Israeli and regional officials say Iran has fired more than 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel, while hundreds of additional drones and missiles have targeted locations across the broader region since the conflict began.
2.28.26 NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Americans do not want another war with Iran.
On 2.28.26 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack by Israel and the United States, Iranian state media confirmed early Sunday, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.
President Donald Trump announced the death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.
State media reported that the 86-year-old was killed in an airstrike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran.
Satellite photos from Airbus showed that the site was heavily bombed.
Some Iranian Americans voiced support for prince Reza Pahlavi to become Iran's new leader. Others say they haven't been able to return home to see their families in Iran for decades, and they say they're hoping a change of leadership will finally help them to reunite with their love ones.
3.8.26: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of ayatollah killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, named Iran's new supreme leader, state media reports.
President Donald Trump said last week that Mojtaba Khamenei would be "unacceptable," and Israel has vowed to target whoever was made Iran's new highest authority.
3.11.26: The United States-Israeli war on Iran has entered its 12th day, with Tehran saying nearly 10,000 civilian sites in the country have been bombed and more than 1,300 civilians killed. Iranian targets, including Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, were bombed on Tuesday overnight, while Tehran continued its retaliatory attacks on Israel and US assets in the Gulf region, causing a spike in global energy prices.
