Iran: Complex Republic on the Plateau• 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 occupance, 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

• however “Persian personality” survives

• in 16th century the Safavid dynasty developed, national unity isbased 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 set a newcourse for modern Iran

• Reza Shah refused to allow Iranian territory to be used during WWII and was forced to abdicate in 1941

• His son was ousted briefly in 1953 by nationalistic movement under Mossadegh who was Prime Minister since 1951

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

• Iran resurfaces in the news because of such issues as:

• 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)

• continued push for more democracy by its citizens (“green revolution”)

• its possible involvement in a proxy-war with Saudi Arabia in YemenToday’s big questions are:

1) Will there be a war with Iran and who will pay for its consequences?

2) Will the people of Iran be successful in their push for more democracy?

3) Will we repeat the mistakes (and rhetoric) of our wars against Iraq?