ed
band

Geography
---------

Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian
Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 53 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total area: 1.648 million sq km
land area: 1.636 million sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries:
total: 5,440 km
border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km,
Azerbaijan-proper 432 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq
1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km

Coastline: 2,440 km
note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation
exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in
the Persian Gulf
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic
relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written
agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war
concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of
navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al-Arab waterway; Iran
occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE: Lesser
Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e
Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in
Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); it
jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf
claimed by the UAE (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye
Abu Musa in Persian by Iran); in 1992 the dispute over Abu Musa and
the Tunb islands became more acute when Iran unilaterally tried to
control the entry of third country nationals into the UAE portion of
Abu Musa island, Tehran subsequently backed off in the face of
significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region, but in
1994 it increased its military presence on the disputed islands;
periodic disputes with Afghanistan over Helmand water rights;
Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined; support to clients in
Afghanistan

Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with
deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Qolleh-ye Damavand 5,671 m

Natural resources: petro