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Hari Rud

(Encyclopedia)Hari Rud häˈrē ro͞od [key], river, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, rising in the Kuh-e Baba range, central Afghanistan, and flowing west and then north into the steppes S of the Kara Kum desert in Turkm...

Qeshm

(Encyclopedia)Qeshm or Qishm both: kēˈshəm [key], largest island of Iran, c.500 sq mi (1,300 sq km), S Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz. It is mostly rocky and has little vegetation; dates and fruits are raised. Qe...

Iraq

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Iraq or Irak both: ēräkˈ, ĭrăkˈ [key], officially Republic of Iraq, republic (2005 est. pop. 26,075,000), 167,924 sq mi (434,924 sq km), SW Asia. Iraq is bordered on the south by Kuwait, ...

independent counsel

(Encyclopedia)independent counsel, in U.S. law, a judicially appointed investigator of charges of misdeeds by high government officials. Originally termed “special prosecutor,” the position was first created by...

Regan, Donald Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Regan, Donald Thomas rēˈgən [key], 1918–2003, U.S. government official and financier, b. Cambridge, Mass. A graduate of Harvard (B.A. 1940), he went to work (1946) at a brokerage house that becam...

Diyala

(Encyclopedia)Diyala dĭyăˈlă, –ˈə [key], river, c.275 mi (440 km) long, rising as the Sirvan River in NW Iran and flowing SW through the Zagros Mts. into E Iraq, where it enters the Tigris River S of Baghda...

Safavid

(Encyclopedia)Safavid säfäˈwēd [key], Iranian dynasty (1499–1736), that established Shiite Islam in Iran as an official state religion. The Safavid state provided both the territorial and societal foundations...

Persian Gulf

(Encyclopedia)Persian Gulf, arm of the Arabian Sea, 90,000 sq mi (233,100 sq km), between the Arabian peninsula and Iran, extending c.600 mi (970 km) from the Shatt al Arab delta to the Strait of Hormuz, which link...

Weinberger, Caspar Willard

(Encyclopedia)Weinberger, Caspar Willard wīnˈbûrgər [key], 1917–2006, U.S. government official, U.S. secretary of defense (1981–87), b. San Francisco, grad. Harvard (1938), Harvard Law School (1941). After ...

Sanandaj

(Encyclopedia)Sanandaj sänˌändäjˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 244,039), capital of Kordestan prov., W Iran. The region is known for its carpets, woodworking, and handicrafts. The population of Sanandaj is comprised...