General Information : 

Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a vast country in southwest Asia. Covering a surface area of 1,648,195 square kilo meters, it is bordered by Iraq on the west, Turkey on the northwest, the Republics of Armenia, Azarbaijan, Turkmanistan (all parts of the former Soviet Union), as well as the Caspian Sea on the north, Afghanistan on the east, Pakistan on the southeast, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman on the south. 

Capital : Tehran

Population 2011 estimate: 75 million

Official languages: Persian

Iran Climate: 

Iran has a variable climate. In the northwest, winters are cold with heavy snowfall and subfreezing temperatures during December and January. Spring and fall are relatively mild, while summers are dry and hot. In the south, winters are mild and the summers are very hot, having average daily temperatures in July exceeding 38° C. On the Khuzestan plain, summer heat is accompanied by high humidity. 

In general, Iran has an arid climate in which most of the relatively scant annual precipitation falls from October through April. In most of the country, yearly precipitation averages 25 centimeters or less. The major exceptions are the higher mountain valleys of the Zagros and the Caspian coastal plain, where precipitation averages at least 50 centimeters annually. In the western part of the Caspian, rainfall exceeds 100 centimeters annually and is distributed relatively evenly throughout the year. This contrasts with some basins of the Central Plateau that receive ten centimeters or less of precipitation annually.

Time:  +3.30 hours GMT

Currency : 

The rial is the currency of Iran. It is subdivided into 100 dinar but, because of the very low current value of the rial, no fraction of the rial is used in accounting. Although the "toman" is no longer an official unit of Iranian currency, Iranians commonly express amounts of money and prices of goods in "tomans." For this purpose, one "toman" equals 10 rials. Despite this usage, amounts of money and prices of goods are virtually always written in rials. 

Visas :

Passport Requirements valid for 6 months beyond stay, and with at least one blank visa page available for visa stamp(s). The Amendment pages in the back of the passport can't be used for visa stamp.

Visa Application Form one visa application form(s) per applicant properly completed and signed. Signature must be original on each application. Improperly completed forms may delay the processing of your visa.

People and Culture :

With a long-standing and proud civilization, Persian culture is among the richest in the world. Two and a half millennia of inspiring literature, thousands of poets and writers, magnificent and impressive architecture, live customs dating back to Zoroastrians over 3000 years ago, and other unique characteristics of the nation are rivaled by only a few countries. 

Throughout the history, this grand treasure of Persia was gradually transferred to eastern and western nations. Iran's significant contribution into the world civilization in many respects is indispensable. Many ceremonies of the ancient Persians are the basis of western celebrations.

Persian or Farsi, is one of the world's oldest languages still in use today, and is known to have one of the most powerful literary traditions and potentials. Persian poetry with masterpieces of Saadi, Hafiz, Rumi and Omar Khayyam is well known around the world. 

As all Persians are quick to point out, Farsi is not related to Arabic, it is a member of the Indo-European family of languages. 

Religion :

The religion held by the majority of the Iranian population is Shia Muslim (89%). Sunni Muslims in Iran constitute about 9% of the population and the remaining 2% of Iranians are from ‘other’ religions – primarily Zoroastrian, Christian and Jewish.