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Raisi, Ebrahim

(Encyclopedia) Raisi, Ebrahim , 1960- , Iranian cleric and political leader, b. Mashhad, as Ebrahim Raisol-Sadati. Raisi’s educational history is unclear, with both...

Masjed Soleyman

(Encyclopedia)Masjed Soleyman mäsjĕdˈ sōlāmänˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 107,539), Khuzestan prov., SW Iran, on the Karun River. The site of the first discovery of petroleum in Iran (1908), it is now an oil-ref...

Zahedan

(Encyclopedia)Zahedan zähādänˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 361,623), capital of Sistan and Baluchistan prov., SE Iran, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. One of Iran's poorer cities, Zahedan is a road j...

Abadan

(Encyclopedia)Abadan ăbədănˈ, äbädänˈ [key], city, Khuzestan prov., SW Iran, on Abadan Island, in the delta of the Shatt al Arab, at the head of the Persian Gulf. It is the term...

Hamun-i-Helmand

(Encyclopedia)Hamun-i-Helmand sēstänˈ [key], marshy lake in the Sistan, c.5,000 sq mi (12,950 sq km), on the Iran-Afghanistan border. The lake, fed by the Helmand, Farah, and other rivers, varies in size during ...

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...

Mohammadi, Narges

(Encyclopedia)Narges Mohammadi, 1972– , b. Zanjan, Iran, Iranian human rights activist and author, studied at Imam Khomeini International University, also known as ...

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...