c: interisland microwave system and HF radio police net;
domestic satellite communications system

international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian
Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean)

Iran:
general assessment: inadequate but currently being modernized
and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and
increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing
telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently
connected

domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system
since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave
radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been
brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems
has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular
subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the
system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital
switches

international: HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait,
Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with
access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG);
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan
through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion
to Georgia and Azerbaijan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and
4 Inmarsat; Internet service available but limited to electronic
mail to promote Iranian culture

Iraq:
general assessment: reconstitution of damaged
telecommunication facilities began after the Gulf war; most damaged
facilities have been rebuilt

domestic: the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave
radio relay links

international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region),
and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay
to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; Kuwait line is probably
nonoperational

Ireland:
general assessment: modern digital system using cable and
microwave radio relay

domestic: microwave radio relay

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Israel:
general assessment: most highly developed system in the
Middle East although not the largest

domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay;