ABSTRACT
GENERAL FACTS ABOUT IRAN Iran is a vast country covering about 1,600,000 km2 located in southwestern Asia. Over half of the area is covered by mountains, a quarter is desert, and less than one-quarter arable land. This variety in the environment has entailed dramatic variations in the socio-economic and cultural state of the people, from the prosperous, fertile green fields and forests of the humid north, to the dry, unfriendly desert sands of the centre.
