Countries

Iran

Citation Formats

General Reference

Political Atlas. "Iran." Accessed August 31, 2026. https://political.interactiveatlas.org/countries/iran.

APA Style

Political Atlas. (n.d.). Iran. Retrieved August 31, 2026, from https://political.interactiveatlas.org/countries/iran

BibTeX

@misc{politicalatlas-iran,
  author = {Political Atlas},
  title = {Iran},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://political.interactiveatlas.org/countries/iran},
  note = {Accessed August 31, 2026}
}

Iran, formally the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a unitary theocratic republic in Western Asia in which an unelected supreme leader holds ultimate authority over an elected president and parliament. The Iranian Revolution overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy between January 1978 and February 1979; revolutionary forces took control of the capital on 11 February 1979, the date the state marks as its own founding anniversary. A referendum on 1 April 1979 formally established the Islamic Republic, and a constitution vesting supreme authority in a Shia jurist, the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, was adopted by referendum on 3 December 1979. The atlas dates Iran's founding to 1979, uncontested as the year in which the monarchy fell and the Islamic Republic was established; which specific day within that year best marks the founding, the February revolution, the April referendum or the December constitution, is not settled by this entry, and the description narrates all three.

Facts

Founding Year

1979 1

1979 is uncontested as the year the Pahlavi monarchy fell and the Islamic Republic was established; it is the day within that year that is genuinely disputed. The revolution succeeded on 11 February 1979, the date Iran itself marks as its founding anniversary; a referendum formally established the Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979; and the constitution vesting authority in the doctrine of velayat-e faqih was adopted on 3 December 1979. The entity description narrates all three rather than picking one day, but the year itself is not in question.

Cross-Tradition Connections