From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishIranI‧ran /ɪˈrɑːn, -æn/ a country in southwest Asia, between Iraq and Afghanistan. Population: 79,853,900 (2014). Capital: Tehran. Iran was called Persia until 1935, and is an important oil-producing country. It was at war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988. Iran is a strongly Muslim country and, although it is a democracy Muslim priests have held a lot of political power there since the Shah (=King) was removed in 1979, when the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power. —Iranian /ɪˈreɪniən/ noun, adjective
