Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, and the Islamic Coalition Association; opposition groups include the Liberation Movement of Iran and the Nation of Iran party; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran; the Society for the Defense of Freedom
International organization participation: CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP,
FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in US: none; note - Iran has an
Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy, headed by Faramarz
FATH-NEJAD; address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy,
2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone: [1] (202)
965-4990
US diplomatic representation: none; note - protecting power in
Iran is Switzerland
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band
Economy ———-
Economic overview: Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. Over the past several years, the government has introduced several measures to liberalize the economy and reduce government intervention, but most of these changes have moved slowly or have been reversed because of political opposition. Iran has faced increasingly severe financial difficulties since mid-1992 due to an import surge that began in 1989 and general financial mismanagement. At yearend 1993 the Iranian Government estimated that it owed foreign creditors about $30 billion; an estimated $8 billion of this debt was in arrears. At yearend 1994, Iran rescheduled $12 billion in debt. Earnings from oil exports - which provide 85% of Iran's export revenues - are providing less relief to Iran than usual because of reduced oil prices. Iran's financial situation will remain tight in 1996 because the bulk of payments due under its rescheduling agreements in 1993-94 will be coming due.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $323.5 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: -2% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $4,700 (1995 est.)