Iran: Complex Republic in The Middle East• Population: about 72 million• Ethnic Make-Up: 50% Persian, 20% Azerbaijani, 10% Kurdish, remaining 20% are Gilaki, Afghani, Arab, Lur, Baluchi, and Turkmen• Religions: 88% Shia, 10% Sunni, plus small numbers of Bahai, Christian, and Zoroastrian

• well preserved sequence of human occupancy, from Paleolithic sites (40,000 years ago) to modern times:

• Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great and others (551-331 BC)

• Sassanid Empire (226-641 AD / establishes Zoroastrianism)

• Arab Muslim invasion starts in 630s, leads to conquest in 641 AD

• after collapse of Abbasid Empire in 1258 AD and due to invasion by Mongols and Tatars, Iran suffered political fragmentation and cultural disruption

• despite all these challenges, the “Persian personality” survived

• in 16th century the Safavid dynasty developed and a national unity is based on Shia Islam

• Qajar, a new dynasty with Turkish tribal origins, comes into power at the end of the 18th century

• under Qajar rule, Iran lost both territory and vigor

• in 1925 Reza Shah founded the Pahlavi dynasty and tried to set the course for a modern Iran

• Reza Shah refused to allow Iranian territory to be used during WWII and was forced to abdicate in 1941; his son inherited the throne

• His son was ousted briefly by nationalistic and anti-Western movement under Mossadegh (Prime Minister / 1951-1953)

• Mohammed Reza Shah regains power with help of CIA and rules as autocrat with the help of a secret police force (SAVAK)

Mossadegh (1951-1953) The Last Shah and his family image of Khomeini President Kathami (1997-2005)

• over the years Iran has emerged in the headlines because of issues like:

• conferences it organized at which the Holocaust was denied; its potential threat to the State of Israel

• its possibility to close the Strait of Hormuz if the situation escalates in regard to embargoes & geopolitics

• the question of its nuclear program and whether or not it is peaceful (note that until the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-1988 the Islamic clergy in Iran opposed nuclear weapons, considering them as “sinful”); the recent nuclear deal with Iran and the lifting of economic sanctions are positive developments

• continued push for more democracy by its citizens despite the failed Green Revolution of 2009

• complicated mosaic: confusing alliances and proxy wars in the context of ISIS, Syria, Iraq and Yemen

• What’s next for Iran? Upcoming elections in May 2017?