ABSTRACT
In economic terms the Middle East and North Africa constitutes a relatively wealthy region, but that wealth is unevenly distributed. Persia, as Iran was known before 1935, has been a sovereign state since the end of the 15th century. It adopted its first democratic constitution in 1906 after revolutionaries had rebelled against the despotism of the shahs of Qajar dynasty, who had ruled Persia since the 18th century. Formerly part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, Iraq was placed under British administration by the League of Nations in 1920. This was the start of long, and generally amicable, relationship. Despite Iraq's potentially weaker military strength, Iran made little territorial progress and by 1986 it seemed as if a stalemate might have been reached. The Arab Socialist Union (ASU) is the only political party, although it has no official existence. Despite the elaborately democratic structure that has been created, ultimate political power rests with the party and the revolutionary leader, Colonel Kadhafi.
