ernment include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's
Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan; the Society for the
Defense of Freedom

International organization participation: CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO,
G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US: none; note - Iran has an
Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy, headed by Faramarz
FATH-NEJAD; address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy,
2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone: [1] (202)
965-4990

Diplomatic representation from the US: none; note - protecting power
in Iran is Switzerland

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white,
and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word
Allah) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is
Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom
edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band

Economy

Economy - overview: Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning,
state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village
agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures.
Under President RAFSANJANI, the government adopted a number of market
reforms to reduce the state's role in the economy, but most of these
changes have moved slowly or have been reversed because of political
opposition. In the early 1990s, Iran experienced a financial crisis
caused by an import surge that began in 1989 and general financial
mismanagement. In 1993-1994, Iran rescheduled $15 billion in debt,
with the bulk of payments due in 1996-97. The strong oil market in
1996 has helped ease financial pressures, however, and Tehran has so
far made timely debt service payments. In 1996, Iran's oil earnings -
which account for 85% of total export revenues - climbed 20% from the
previous year. Iran's financial situation will remain tight through
the end of the decade, and continued timely debt service payments will
depend, in part, on persistent strong oil prices during the next few
years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $343.5 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.6% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,200 (1996 est.)

GDP - c