years of age; universal

Executive branch:
supreme leader (rahbar) and functional chief of state: Leader of the
Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
head of government: President Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI (since 3
August 1989); election last held June 1993 (next to be held June
1997); results - Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI was elected with 63% of
the vote
cabinet: Council of Ministers; selected by the president with
legislative approval

Legislative branch: unicameral
Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami): elections
last held 8 April 1992 (next to be held April 1996); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (270 seats total) number of seats by
party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: there are at least 76 licensed parties;
the three most important are - Tehran Militant Clergy Association,
Mohammad Reza MAHDAVI-KANI; Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi
MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; Fedaiyin Islam
Organization, Sadeq KHALKHALI

Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally support the
Islamic Republic include Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic
Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam; armed
political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the
government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's
Fedayeen, Kurdish Democratic Party; the Society for the Defense of
Freedom

Member of: CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, 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, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani
Embassy in Washington, DC
chancery: Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990

US diplomatic representation: protecting power in Iran is Switzerland

Flag: 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 Alkbar (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

@Iran:Economy

Overview