Iran
Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces subsequently crushed westernizing liberal elements. Militant Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq over disputed territory. The key current issue is how rapidly the country should open up to the modernizing influences of the outside world.
While there are no know specific threats to foreign visitors, foreigners, particularly U.S. and British citizens have been harassed by vigilante groups.
The U.S. State Department currently warns U.S. citizens to "carefully consider the risks of travel to Iran. Due to ongoing tensions, particularly along the border with Iraq, U.S. citizens may be at risk of harassment or kidnapping."
The U.S. government does not currently have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and therefore cannot provide protection or routine consular services to American citizens in Iran. The Swiss government, acting through its Embassy in Tehran, serves as protecting power for U.S. interests in Iran.
Travelers should avoid all travel to the area of Kerman Province between the cities of Kerman and Bam and the regions of Khorasan and Sistan via Baluchestan Provinces bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Violent clashes between security forces and drug traffickers often occur in these eastern border regions. Drug traffickers in the area have kidnapped foreigners, most recently in December 2003. Travel at night is particularly hazardous. Travelers should avoid travel to areas near the border between Iran and Iraq in Ilam Province and Khorramshahr in Khozestan Province, due to the ongoing confrontation between government forces and Iranian opposition groups based in Iraq.
Acts of political violence can occur, particularly in the capital, Tehran. In June 2005, bomb attacks occurred in a number of cities in Iran, including Tehran, several of which were aimed at government buildings. Further attacks may occur in the lead up to the run-off for the Presidential elections expected to take place on 24 June 2005. Bomb attacks have, to date, not been aimed at foreigners, but have resulted in civilian casualties.
In November and August 2005, small devices were set off in a building in Tehran housing commercial premises including those of foreign companies. There were no casualties but some damage was caused. In October, two explosions were reported in Ahwaz in the south western province of Khuzestan, killing at least five people. In the first half of June, there were a number of bomb explosions in cities across Iran. In June, at least eight people were killed in a series of explosions in Ahwaz. Two people were killed on the same day in explosions in Tehran. Explosions were also reported in Qom, Zahedan and a number of other cities.
Large gatherings or demonstrations have turned violent in the past.
Iran is an Islamic theocracy with strict codes of dress and conduct. Travelers should at all times respect religious and cultural sensitivities. Where a relationship, according to Islamic definition, cannot be demonstrated, close contact between unmarried men and women (especially non-Muslims and Muslims) is prohibited. The penalties for breaching these laws are severe. The dress code is enforced at all times.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader - the highest power in the land - appoints the head of the judiciary, military leaders, the head of radio and TV and Friday prayer leaders. Moreover, he selects six members of the Guardian Council, an influential body which has to pass all legislation and which is able to veto would-be election candidates. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was appointed for life in June 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic. He served two consecutive terms as president in the 1980s. He has intervened on behalf of conservatives, coming into conflict with former president Mohammad Khatami and other reformists.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Tehran's ultra-conservative mayor, won a run-off vote in elections in June 2005, defeating his rival, the former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, to become Iran's first non-cleric president for 24 years. Promising an administration of "peace and moderation", Ahmadinejad said his government would press on with Iran's controversial nuclear program. Months into his presidency, a furor erupted over Ahmadinejad's comment at a conference that Israel should be "wiped off the map". The UN secretary-general rebuked Tehran for the statement. Born near Tehran in 1956, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a former provincial governor and Revolutionary Guards officer. He was actively involved in the Islamic revolution and was a founding member of the student union that took over the US embassy in Tehran in 1979. But he denies being one of the hostage-takers. His predecessor, the reformist Mohammad Khatami, was often frustrated in his attempts to deliver political and social changes. Hard-line conservatives repeatedly blocked legislation during his eight years in office and the disqualification of moderates from parliamentary elections left him politically isolated.
Iran's economy relies heavily on oil export revenues - around 80-90 percent of total export earnings and 40-50 percent of the government budget. Strong oil prices the past few years have helped Iran's economic situation. For 2004, Iran's real GDP increased by around 5.8 percent; for 2005 and 2006, it is expected to grow around 5.4 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
Despite higher oil revenues, Iranian budget deficits remain a chronic problem, in part due to large-scale state subsidies on foodstuffs, gasoline, etc. Expenditures on fuels were estimated at $4.7 billion in 2004, and the country's parliament (the Majlis) has rejected measures to raise consumer prices. To the contrary, in January 2005, the Majlis decided to freeze domestic prices for gasoline and other fuels at 2003 levels. Currently, gasoline costs less than 40 cents per gallon in Iran, far below market cost.
To pay for sharply increased subsidy expenditures, President Khatami's budget proposal calls for withdrawing $7.7 billion from the country's oil stabilization fund (OSF). In late November 2004, the Iranian parliament agreed to allow the government to withdraw $825 million from the OSF to pay for rapidly increasing gasoline import costs. In December, the country's Finance Minister said that money had been withdrawn, that this was "legal and within the framework of the Third Five-Year Economic Development Plan’s (2000-05) law and the annual budget law." In general, President Khatami has had difficulty gaining support for his 2005/2006 proposed budget, which is likely to be highly expansionary given continued high oil prices and political pressures for increased spending.
Iran is attempting to diversify by investing some of its oil revenues in other areas, including petrochemicals. In 2004, non-oil exports rose by a reported 9 percent. Iran also is hoping to attract billions of dollars worth of foreign investment to the country by creating a more favorable investment climate (i.e., reduced restrictions and duties on imports, creation of free-trade zones). In May 2002, the country's Expediency Council approved the "Law on the Attraction and Protection of Foreign Investment," which aims at encouraging foreign investment by streamlining procedures, guaranteeing profit repatriation, and more. This law, which was sent to the government for implementation in January 2003, represents the first foreign investment act passed by Iran's legislature since the 1978/79 Revolution. The legislation had been delayed for several years due to disagreements between reformers and conservatives.
Iran has come under strong pressure from the US since President Bush declared it part of an "axis of evil" in 2002. That pressure intensified after the US-led war against Iraq, with Washington accusing Tehran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons and of trying to subvert US efforts in Iraq. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. With a diplomatic showdown looming over its nuclear program, Iran resumed its uranium conversion process in 2005, with President Ahmadinejad saying the country had an "inalienable right" to produce nuclear fuel.
In March 2004, President Bush extended sanctions originally imposed in 1995 by President Clinton for another year, citing the "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security posed by Iran. The 1995 executive orders prohibit U.S. companies and their foreign subsidiaries from conducting business with Iran, while banning any "contract for the financing of the development of petroleum resources located in Iran."
