Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Iran has no political parties; the most
important political "groupings" are - Tehran Militant Clergy
Association, Secretary General Ayatollah Mohammad EMAMI-KASHANI;
Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar
MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; Servants of Reconstruction (G-6), Mohammad
HASHEMI-RAFSANJANI, Hosein MARASHI
Political pressure groups and leaders: 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, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan; 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, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the 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
Diplomatic representation from the US: none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland
Flag description: 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
Economy - 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. Under President RAFSANJANI, the government adopted a number of market reforms to reduce the state's role in the economy, but most of these changes have moved slowly or have been reversed because of political opposition. In the early 1990s, Iran experienced a financial crisis caused by an import surge that began in 1989 and general financial mismanagement. In 1993-1994, Iran rescheduled $15 billion in debt, with the bulk of payments due in 1996-97. The strong oil market in 1996 has helped ease financial pressures, however, and Tehran has so far made timely debt service payments. In 1996, Iran's oil earnings - which account for 85% of total export revenues - climbed 20% from the previous year. Iran's financial situation will remain tight through the end of the decade, and continued timely debt service payments will depend, in part, on persistent strong oil prices during the next few years.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $343.5 billion (1996 est.)