ABSTRACT
Iran's rankings serve as reminders of its importance: in the region, it is second in size, second in population, second in petroleum reserves, first in natural gas reserves, second in total area under cultivation, first in irrigated area, second in wheat production, first in copper output, and a major producer of other crops and minerals. The Islamic revolution brought radical social change, none more radical than a shift in the ruling elite. Competing social groups have dynamized the body politic for decades: aristocracy, bazaari (merchants), clergy, tribal leaders, and army. In the two years between the Iran-Iraq cease-fire and Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the republic stabilized and made an unexpectedly smooth transition after Khomeini's death. Dissatisfaction among the republic's leaders led him into frequent conflict with the Majlis, despite his conservative religious orientation, but he kept the support of the supreme leader.
