Iran
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Iran (Persian: ایران), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān) is a country located in the Middle East, in between Iraq and Afghanistan. The capital, Tehran, is the largest city in the Middle East.
Iran has a vast history, dating back to pre-historic times. At one point in time, Iran (which was known as Persia at the time) spanned from the western border of Egypt to the western border of India. In 1953, British and American intelligence agencies conspired to topple the democratically elected Prime Minister Mossadegh, installing in his place Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Backed by the West, Pahlavi was brutally repressive toward the people of Iran. In 1979 a popular, student-led uprising ousted Pahlavi and placed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in power. This ended the Pahlavi dynasty and monarchism in Iran, and instilled a new form of government that mixed theocracy with the laws of a modern republic.