Iran (/ɪˈrɑːn/ (About this sound listen), also /ɪˈræn/;[10][11] Persian: ایران Irān [ʔiːˈɾɒːn] (About this sound listen)), also known as Persia[12] (/ˈpɜːrʒə/),[13] officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān (About this sound listen)),[14] is a sovereign state in Western Asia.[15][16] It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the exclave of Nakhchivan; to the north by the Caspian Sea; to the northeast by Turkmenistan; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. With over 79.92 million inhabitants (as of March 2017), Iran is the world's 18th-most-populous country.[17] Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second-largest country in the Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world. It is the only country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The country's central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, make it of great geostrategic importance.[18] Tehran is the country's capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran