Iran At a Glance

1. Introduction

Various descriptions have been made of the land of Iran as an ancient territory or a modern country; foreign researchers have introduced it to their nations from different perspectives. Also, Iranians have not effectively described and presented it in a unified manner. In the works introducing and recognizing Iran, the views have been limited and focused on specific aspects of Iran's attractiveness. The purpose of this essay is to give a general and brief introduction to Iran and to show the face of Iran as it is.

Introducing Iran as an ancient country with a civilization of at least 5 thousand years is just one of the apparent facts about Iran. Introducing Iran as a mythical country is not the whole reality of Iran, although mythological aspects in Iranian culture are an undeniable fact. Presenting it as a cultural land of birthplace of great poets, thinkers, and scientists such as Ferdowsi, Attar, Khayyam, Saadi, Hafez, Molavi, Farabi, Aburijan, Porsina, Sheikh Bahai, and several other figures is not representing entire cultural Iran. It is another corner of Iran's reality as the birthplace of ancient festivals such as Nowruz, Sadeh, Mehrgan, Tirgan, Cheleh, etc. Introducing Iran as a country with oil, gas, and abundant and diverse mineral reserves is a newer view of the realities of Iran in recent centuries. In other ways, Iran is famous as a producer of saffron, carpets, and hand-woven carpets and an exporter of the best pistachios in the world. Still, these do not represent Iran's potential production and trade capacities. Introducing Iran as a land of deserts and windy sands ignores Iran's virgin and green spaces. Because besides the unique deserts, Iran also has the oldest forests in the world (Hyrcani forests) and remarkable oak forests of the Zagros mountains.

Representing Iran as a mountainous country characterized by significant mountain ranges, Alborz and Zagros overlook the greatness of all of Iran's mountains. Because Iran has four mountain ranges: Alborz, Zagros, Middle Mountains of Iran, and Eastern Mountains of Iran, including 40 peaks above 4000 meters in height.

On the other hand, Iran is famous for having the highest peak in the Middle East, Damavand, and the largest lake in the world (Caspian), the saltiest lake in the world (Lake Urmia, which unfortunately is drying up). The land of Iran with the most significant temperature difference among different regions in one season, one month, and even one day having four simultaneous seasons in other parts of it (for example, spring in winter in areas such as Khuzestan, Hormozgan, and Bushehr. Winter weather in spring is well-known in areas such as Ardabil and parts of Azerbaijan and altitudes above 2500 meters in the north and northwest of Iran).

Some consider Iran a geological paradise with various minerals and fossils and introduce several geoparks, among which UNESCO has recognized one geopark. Although no other geopark has been announced for Iran globally and even by government organizations, it is still possible to introduce several geoparks with global standards. These are also parts of Iran's nature and assets, briefly presented in the following sections, making Iran a unique land.

According to archaeological and historical evidence, the territory of Iran is the cradle of human civilization. The first human rights text, the Cyrus Charter of Human Rights, was written and announced in Iran; The first religion of monotheism, the Zoroastrian religion, belonged to the Iranians; The first great world empire, the Achaemenids, is known as Iran. The metallurgical industry (based on the evidence in the museums of Iran and the world) has the oldest history in Iran; Iranians minted the first gold coin (Daric, during the time of Darius). The genius Iranian scientist Aburihan Biruni is the first person to announce the earth's roundness and to measure the earth's radius for the first time. For the first time, Abu Rihan Biruni determined the density of several minerals in two decimal places. The molecular theory – the structure of matter in tiny components and their behavior - was presented before Dalton by Mu'tazili scientists in Iran; The first democratic uprising in Asia (constitutional revolution) occurred in Iran.

After this lengthy introduction, we will have some general references to Iranology. The following chapters will describe significant features of Iran's realities in detail.

2- Iran and the origin of this name

The word Iran, or Aryan, has thousands of years of roots. The term Iran is pronounced as aeran, Aryan, and the old word arya in Avesta Persian as airia; In ancient Persian, airya, etc., all have the same root as the word Aryan, which means Iranians. In Avesta, the word Iranvich means the land of Iran (the name of the Arian Zemin Research Center is also derived from the same word).

The pronunciation of the words Iran in Avestan Persian, Old Persian, and Pahlavi Persian is somewhat different, but they all express the same meaning and name. As in Avestan Persian, it was Ayrian, Old Persian Iriana, and Middle Persian Eran, meaning the land of noble people. In Sanskrit, it has a different pronunciation but a similar meaning.

Iran was also called the country of the Pars, Persians, and Persia. Pars, Persians, and Persia is generally derived from Greek and Elamite concepts in the Western world. The word Parse, meaning the land of the Persians, seems to originate from the Achaemenid government because the Achaemenians were one of the great Aryan tribes called the Persians. As mentioned in the third chapter of the book, the country of Iran was made up of three great Aryan tribes, the Persians, the Parthians, and the Medes, each of which ruled Iran in ancient times and formed an all-encompassing state.

Medes formed the first government of Iran in the west and northwest parts of the center of Iran. The Achaemenids ruled all of Great Iran and Enirani lands, such as Egypt and parts of India and China. Following the Achaemenids and Seleucids, before the Sassanians, entire Iran land, from the Upper River to the Middle River, and some Anirani lands were ruled by the Parthians.

Because in the past, the western world mostly used the words Pars and Persia in political interactions. On January 6, 1313, during the reign of Reza Shah, the government of Iran officially asked other countries to use the word Iran in official correspondence. At that time, Saeed Nafisi, one of the great professors of literature and history at Tehran University, defended the name of Iran, the country's oldest ancient and historical term, while giving a passionate speech about the country's history.

The term Iran originates from the Middle Persian era. That was the name for the Royal country of Iranians. It first appeared on the coins of Ardeshir Babkan and his stone inscriptions at Naghshe Rostam scripts, entitled Ardeshir the Aryan Shah (Iran); the word Iranshahr was used in its political means by the Sassanians. Both "Iranian" and "Iran" terms appeared in Iranian writings during the Sassanid period and after Islam.

The word Shahneshah was the epithet for the pre-Islamic kings of Iran because Iran then consisted of a series of large states with local kings who were often inherited. Meanwhile, other countries of non-Iranian origin - known as Enirani - were under the support of the great Shah of Iran. Though the Shahenshah, the emperor of all Iranians, means the king of kings who were all under his rule.

Apart from the word Iran, this land is also known by the terms Persian and Persians, especially in the past western countries' works, which are outdated nowadays.

3- Geographical location and population of Iran

Iran is a country located in the west of the Asian continent and the Middle East region. Today's Iran is located in the Northern Hemisphere at latitudes 25 to 40 degrees North and longitudes 44 to 63 degrees East. The era of Iran is equal to 1.648.195 square kilometers. It occupies the land between the Caspian Sea in the north, the Persian Gulf, and the Oman Sea in the south; Pakistan and Afghanistan are its eastern neighbors, Turkmenistan in the northeast, Azerbaijan and Armenia in the northwest, and Iraq in the west are its other neighbors. Iran has 31 provinces. Its capital is Tehran. Iran has at least ten cities with more than two million people, including Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, Hamedan, Kermanshah, Kerman, Rasht, and Sari. (Distribution map of Iran's provinces).

The official language of Iran is Farsi; of course, other languages and dialects such as Azari, Kurdish, Lori, and Balochi, each with its beauty and elegance, are common among the tribes and provinces of the country.

4- The nature of Iran

Iran has numerous mountain ranges; also, it has vast desert lands and diverse long beaches. Parts of Iran's lands have forest cover (extensive in the north, southwest, and west of Iran).

The average rainfall in Iran is about 250 mm per year. This rainfall has a very different temporal and spatial distribution, for example, some parts of Iran have up to 2000 mm of rain per year, and in some other places, the annual rainfall is only about 10 to 50 mm.

Iran has significant biological and animal diversity. So far, about 8 thousand plant species and more than 1140 animal species have been recorded for the area.

In terms of topography, Iran has lands that are lower than the level of open seas, and on the other hand, it has more than 40 peaks with a height higher than 4000 thousand meters. (Figure 1-2)

Iran has a remarkable climate diversity. The hottest point of the earth (Brian wheat in Lut Plain) is located in Iran, while areas (Alm Kouh) have natural glaciers.

The second chapter describes the general nature of Iran.

5- Infrastructures

We summarize Iran's infrastructure in two major sections:

- Public physical infrastructures can be of two categories, which are:

a: Infrastructure and natural resources such as energy resources, mineral resources, tourist attractions such as geoparks, deserts, agricultural products, and handicrafts play a major role in the production of national wealth.

b: Human-made infrastructures were created during the country's industrialization and modernization and generally started in 1920, and their expansion continues even now, including railway networks, roads, airports, dams, water transfer channels, power lines and telecommunication networks, and educational-research-sports buildings. Although these infrastructures are not proportional to Iran's population of 80 million, it is possible to develop them.

- Cultural infrastructures and human resources

a. Human resources, including specialist and non-specialist human forces, scientific and cultural figures

b. Cultural infrastructure, including tourist sites such as museums, historical monuments, tombs of national figures, and other things related to events and cultural issues such as cinema and theater halls, galleries, collections, libraries, music places, and historical and cultural places.

?Description of physical infrastructure

a. Mining. The position of minerals and related industries and their role in Iran's economy are very important; It is not wrong if we consider the role of these reserves in the economy and diversification of economic incomes as the only way to get out of the government and oil economy. One of the best options is this solution, which will attract diverse income, employment, and proper production distribution throughout the country.

Iran is one of the world's most prominent countries in this regard, producing 70 types of raw minerals in the current harsh national conditions. Many of these products are exported as raw materials, and the rest are used in local industries. Iran's share of world reserves is about 10% (70 billion tons of known mineral reserves), and in this regard, Iran ranks among the top ten countries worldwide. Iran's mineral production is much lower than its world reserve share, about 1%. This gap will be compensated if special attention is paid to mining and related industries and all its requirements, including hardware and software infrastructure, are provided for the production and exploitation of these reserves.

Based on the available evidence, the development of mines and mining industries is considered one of the best potential options to save the country's economy. A dynamic economy of mining and mining industries is expected if this sector is properly guided.

The economy based on minerals has many advantages over other sources of income in the country, including the following:

1- Iran's mining industry's main advantage is the variety of mineral reserves. Regarding the mining industry, only the US is comparable to Iran. Currently, Iran exploits 70 types of metallic and non-metallic minerals, construction materials, decorative stones, etc. It is noteworthy that the current situation is where no basic attention has been paid to the mining and mineral industries.

2- The price of energy carriers such as oil and gas is expected to not grow significantly in the future (after 2030), and their export has no economic justification. In such a situation, the countries that can provide the energy consumption of their domestic industries would be able to increase the added value of their industrial products by using cheap energy (without transportation costs) and be successful in the global competition in production.

3- Iran is a country that has very limited access to water resources, which is one of the most important

Obstacles to the development of the country. It is noteworthy that the mining industry, unlike the agricultural sector, does not need many resources

They do not require water, and their development does not put much pressure on the country's water resources; as a result, the mining industry's role in the country's future can be prominent.

?4- Iran's mineral reserves are mainly located in the central and eastern parts of the country. Due to the low vegetation density in these areas, mining industry development faces fewer environmental issues. As we know, ecological problems today will overshadow the industrial growth of countries in the future.

5- The development of mining industries in the central and eastern parts of Iran requires the creation of basic infrastructures such as the construction and development of railways, the supply of needed water through the desalination of seawater, and the building and design of huge docks on the coasts of the Oman Sea. Apart from its main use in developing the country's economy, these infrastructures also contribute to its national security. On the other hand, in the east and northeast of Iran, there are countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, etc., which do not have access to open seas due to their abundant mineral reserves. The construction of these communication lines can turn Iran into the highway of commercial exchanges in the Central Asian region, increasing the country's regional security significantly with increased commercial deals. The growth of mines and mining industries in Iran and the mentioned suitable communication routes will cause the transfer of the mining industries of the mentioned countries to Iran. On the other hand, Iran has the appropriate technical knowledge to help launch the mining and mining industries in Central Asia and its eastern countries.

?According to these facts, the country is in serious need of reducing its dependence on oil and gas and reducing the production of agricultural products that require water. The prosperity and progress of the mining industry have many advantages worth to be taken into account for the sake of the country's sustainable development. In implementing development programs, the most important goal of which should be to reduce the country's dependence on oil and gas, Iran is forced to sustainably develop the infrastructure of the mining and mineral industries and expand road construction programs, especially railways. The development of industry and mining does not need a lot of water, and especially the wealth resulting from it cannot be exclusively in the hands of the government. As a result, the mining industry can grow and develop quickly with proper supervision without the restrictions and laxity common in government programs. Especially since the number of small and medium mines in the country is very large and the committed and knowledgeable private sector can participate in this development and exploitation.

As indicated, ?Iran is one of the top ten countries in the world in terms of its mineral position and reserves. Of course, Iran can have something to say about some mineral substances for many years and to take part in global production; these substances are:

Metal deposits of copper, iron, gold, lead, and zinc; non-metal deposits such as phosphate, fluorite, barite, and salt; building materials and building stones, which can be said to be a fa?ade; and decorative rocks, as one of Iran's inexhaustible riches.

Despite being among the top ten mineral countries in the world, it is noteworthy that deep mineral explorations have not yet started in the real sense in the country. About 10,000 mineral deposits and indices based on surface evidence and historical mining have been reported in Iran. The geological characteristics of Iran indicate that Iran has many undiscovered porphyry copper and gold reserves, especially in the center and east of Iran. For the development of these mines, the partnership of the world's major economic enterprises in Iran seems necessary.

b. non-renewable energy sources (oil, gas, coal)

1. Oil

Proved conventional oil reserves in the world are equivalent to 1.65 trillion barrels. Iran ranks fourth in the world with a reserve of 157 billion barrels (primary reserves discovered so far) and a share of 9.5% of the world's total resources (Table 1) (world meter).

Global oil production in the last five years (2017-2022) has fluctuated between 90 and 100 million barrels annually. Iran is one of the ten largest oil-producing countries worldwide and was the first oil exporter between 1352 and 1357. The share of Iran's oil production in the total world production in the last five years has been between 4.5-3 million barrels per day, of which about 2 million barrels reach domestic consumption. Iran's oil share in production fell to ninth place in the world from 2019 to 2020 due to Iran's problems with the Western world. If these problems are resolved and the country returns to global interactions, Iran can easily produce 4.5 million barrels of oil daily. If it invests more in the oil industry and cooperates with reputable international companies, it can increase its production to 6 million barrels in a few years. increase the day

2. Natural gas

The definite reserves of natural gas in the world until the end of 2020 are reported to be equal to 188.1 trillion cubic meters. The world's largest amount of proven reserves is related to Russia, with 37.4 trillion cubic meters. After that, Iran was ranked second in confirmed reserves of natural gas with 1.32 trillion cubic meters and a share of 1.17% of the total gas reserves of the world (2020) (Statistical Review of World Energy 2021).

Natural gas production in Iran and the world

The global natural gas production in 2020 is estimated at 3853.7 billion cubic meters. The highest amount is related to America, with 914.6 billion cubic meters and a 23.7% share of the whole world; Then Russia ranks second with 638.5 billion cubic meters and a 16.6% share of the world. With the production of 250.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2020, Iran ranks fourth in the world with a share of 6.5% of the world's total production (Statistical Review of World Energy 2021), which is much higher than its rich reserves. Lower.

The fact is that Iran has not yet completed its oil and gas discoveries, although it has had significant exploration activities in the past 25 years. According to the existing geological evidence, it is possible that estimated Iran's oil reserves will reach 200 billion barrels and Iran's gas reserves will reach 50 trillion cubic meters.

However, Iran's oil and gas production industry has not progressed in proportion to its reserves due to the problems encountered during the past decades and even today. Regarding energy consumption, Iran has the highest per capita consumption in the world (relative to the population). So that the amount of gas and oil consumed daily (if we consider the amount of gas consumed as equivalent to a barrel of oil) is approximately equivalent to 4.5 million barrels of oil. Of course, if energy consumption is optimized and renewable energies are used, such as solar, geothermal, and wind energy, of which there are significant resources, the country's energy consumption situation will become more reasonable.

Coal is another source of non-renewable energy in Iran. Iran ranks 29th among countries with a reserve of 1.3 billion tons of coal (world meters). However, coal exploration continues in Iran. Of course, Iran needs more discoveries and processing of coking coals to develop its steel industry.

- Water resources in Iran

In Iran, there are approximately 411 billion cubic meters of annual rainfall. The average yearly rainfall in the country is 250 mm. The rainfall distribution is unbalanced in space and time, so 70% of the rain occurs in 25% of the area of Iran, and 30% of the rainfall occurs in the other 25% of this area. For example, in Anzali port, there is up to 2000 mm of rain annually, while in other parts of the country, the annual rainfall is between 10 and 50 mm. In terms of time, rainfall occurs in many cases in non-water seasons. Of course, this has room for discussion and study. Out of 411 billion annual precipitations, 296 billion are removed by evaporation or other factors, and about 92 billion cubic meters can be controlled and used as runoff.

Iran's annual water consumption is 98 billion cubic meters, of which 64 billion cubic meters have been extracted from underground sources in the last two decades. This is because the underground water fed by annual rainfall is about 56 billion cubic meters. It means that every year about 8 billion cubic meters of excess water is used from underground resources, which is considered a big threat to the country's future. Even now, some problems are visible. Iran uses about 90% of available water in agriculture, about 3% in industry, and 7% as drinking water sources.

?The use of underground water has been increasing in the last forty years, so in 1981 it was equivalent to 70 billion cubic meters, in 1991, it was equal to 75 billion cubic meters, and in 2001 it reached about 79 billion cubic meters. That is, during these years, underground water storage has been used, which was used for consumption in all three sectors: agriculture, industry, and drinking. This increase in consumption in these four decades and especially the last three decades has had consequences for the country, the most important of which are:

- The drying up of internal lakes and wetlands, of which there are many examples.

- The lowering of the underground water level in many parts of the country, in other words, in all the provinces (only Mazandaran and Gilan provinces are far from this water level reduction).

- The subsidence of the country's plains and the advance of the subsidence towards the cities.

- Increase of micro dust centers inside the country; Due to the actions of western and southern neighboring countries (construction of dams, change of cultivated land, and drying of small lakes, etc.), this miserable situation is spreading in many regions of the country.

- Helping climate change and disorder as much as possible is also global.

Of course, with proper planning and the opinion of experts at the national level, these problems can be solved in a period of ten years. Some suggested actions may include:

-Using desalination on the Makran Sea (Oman) shores, water can be supplied to a large part of the country, and the country's industries can be moved to the southeast of Iran. That is, Sistan and Baluchistan province, the east of Hormozgan province, especially the Makran shores.

-Creation of flood control dams, of course, with detailed studies that do not cause drying up of internal reservoirs.

- Changing the cultivation and planting of crops with less water consumption, such as changing apple orchards in West Azerbaijan to grape orchards as they used to be.

-Recovery of water used in the industrial sector, which of course, is currently flowing, but it can be optimized.

- Teaching farmers to avoid irrigation (rain and drip systems) during the day - especially on hot days - and irrigation at night to prevent evaporation and water retention materials.

- Optimizing water consumption in the agricultural sector and using virtual water; means the reversal of virtual water that leaves the country.

Of course, one should get help from all the mentioned cases for the results to be constructive.

A reference to the state of human resources

Although human resources are outside this book's topics, some small and important notes worth be mention here:

- Iran's population has more than 10 million university graduates - with bachelor's degrees and above.

- Nearly 85,000 academic members are working in universities and scientific and research institutes in the country

- Iran has the highest rank of knowledge production (in fact, published articles) in the region.

?

Of course, the large number of published articles or high statistics of faculty members deserves serious criticism and revision as the numeric increase is not necessarily associated with quality improvement.

Iran has the most scientific and research centers in the Middle East, although some do not have defensible standards. Of course, due to the high percentage of the country's young population, with a systematic program and smart management, the quality of many existing institutes can be improved in a short period. The current curricula and orientation need to be changed within the country's real needs framework.

Iran has a population of more than 6 million immigrants in other countries, mostly in North America (the USA and Canada) and Western Europe. It is noteworthy that a significant majority of Iranian immigrants abroad have a higher educational and economic status than the average status of the host country's people. These immigrants are considered a potential wealth of elites for Iran, who can play a big role in the growth of the national economy if the necessary conditions are provided.

- Civilization history

Iran has a civilization that is at least 5000 years old. Iran has had scattered and advanced civilizations throughout its history. The amalgamation of these scattered and advanced civilizations, Aryan immigrant tribes' culture, and the ethnic, industrial, and scientific accumulation of these groups have finally led to the creation and formation of a great civilization. The history of Iranian civilization can be summarized in three major periods:

- Periods of prehistoric civilizations that include scattered societies of Elamite, Manai, Silk, Shahr Sokhte, Jiroft, Shahdad, Marlik, Hasanlu, etc.

- The ancient civilization era continues from the Achaemenid period to the Sasanian period and includes the Medes' rule.

- The period of Islamic civilization continues from the Sassanids' fall to the current period.

The book's third chapter will detail Iran's history in these three periods.

-Cultural infrastructures in Iran

Iran is not a country to be introduced and defined by one religion, one language, several dialects, and one nation. Rather, it is a country with different ethnicities, different dialects, and different languages but with common characteristics. These characteristics are cultural elements, as if they are genetic traits that cover larger geography than the present-day soil of Iran. In this book, we refer to this area as cultural Iran. Cultural Iran embraces the entire land in which various forms of Iranian culture have flowed; the Corresponding geography covers the Middle River to the Trans-River, including Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, parts of Uzbekistan, parts of Iraq, eastern Turkey, parts of India, and Pakistan. Attributing the culture here needs to be clarified. That is, while respecting their geographical borders and independence, the cultural and historical ties are remembered, acknowledging our historical records. The common language of the past, and other common cultural characteristics, which have found a genetic state, were integrated.

Some of these intrinsic characteristics that make up the Iranian cultural identity are hospitality, beautiful dialects that often have their roots in Old Persian and Middle Persian and its sub-branches, and beautiful, precise, and meaningful sayings that are popular among the people. Turkish speakers are all rooted in Iranian culture; The crystallization of this culture is evident in the Persian and Turkish poems of Shahriar and Saeb Tabrizi, common celebrations such as Nowruz, Yalda Night, Seezdah-be-dar, Mehrgan Festival, etc.

Also, very common features - as a support for forming a large and unified nation - have emerged due to the action and reaction of geographical nature, morphology, and their impact on the lives of the people of Iran. Part of the diversity among the people of Iran comes from the natural and climatic characteristics, which are evident in the style of clothing, nutrition, physical strength and intelligence, skin color, and the beauty and face of the people of this vast historical-geographic territory.

Although part of the customs and celebrations are not common as in the past, they are not forgotten.

?Common language characteristics such as proverbs with a single meaning in different dialects, in other languages common in other regions, and common ceremonies in joys and sorrows, despite the geographical distance of several thousands of kilometers, appear as a common spirit in a unified culture. These rites and rituals are common among Kurdish, Turkish and Azeri, Baluch, Ler, Tajik, Hazara, Bukharai-Herati, Balkhi, Tehrani, Isfahani, Shirazi, Bandari, Kermani, Yazdi, Ahwazi, Gilani, Semnani, Tabasi tribes. Everyone loses color.

The existence of some of these differences has enriched the cultural elements. Also, very common features - as a background for forming a large and unified nation - have emerged due to the action and reaction of geographical nature, morphology, and their impact on the lives of Iranians. Part of the diversity among the people of Iran comes from the natural and climatic characteristics, which are evident in the style of clothing, nutrition, physical strength and intelligence, skin color, and the beauty and face of the people of this vast historical-geographic territory.

Undoubtedly, the following two factors played a significant role in the formation of Iranian identity:

1- The geography and morphology of the land of Iran, in general terms, the nature of Iran and its geographical location.

?2- The historical background, the emergence of great civilizations, stable and widespread sovereignty in the ancient world, identity struggles in the past, and their role in the creation of the culture of the Islamic era.

In general, the people who had lived in this land for a long time and before history and had scattered advanced civilizations mixed with the migration of Aryan peoples and built a great nation with a rich culture. These people have created various works in different regions of Iran, living with other religions, dialects, cultures, and customs.

When it comes to cultural elements, it is necessary to criticize the scientists of the western world, though being grateful to them for introducing our cultural greats to the people of the world.

But our criticism is that great Iranian scientists such as Porsina, Aburihan, Khayyam, Molavi, etc., who are Iranian scientists and belong to Iranian culture, are called Arab scientists. That is an injustice to Iran’s culture, the cultured people of Iran, and the scientists who were undoubtedly Iranian. Unfortunately, some reference and culture books also show a similar attribution. We hope today's writers and future thinkers will make up for this mistake wherever possible. Undoubtedly, the elders and intellectuals of the Western world know that Iranians, as the most ancient human civilization, have provided great services to the whole of humanity throughout history, and it is not acceptable to include their elders among Arab scientists.

Tourism

Due to its ancient history and diverse nature, Iran has very attractive areas for urban tourism, ancient monuments, nature tourism, and geotourism. The painful fact is that many of Iran's antiquities were legally removed from the country during the Qajar rule during the contract between Muzaffar al-Din Shah and the French government. Throughout history, many works have been smuggled out of the country. We hope at least the belongings illegally smuggled out of the country must be returned to the country with prudent, capable, and culture-friendly management. Painfully, some pieces taken out of Iran are not even said to belong to Iran; For example, in the Louvre Museum of France, apart from the separate section of Ancient Iran, the post-Islamic works of Iran are under the title of the Islamic civilization. Of all the pieces under this title in the Louvre Museum, only a small part related to Islam's birthplace, i.e., Saudi Arabia or other Arabic regions.

On the other hand, there is a great diversity in Iranian foods, bread, fruits, and other edibles, which could perhaps be included as cultural attractions in tourism industry programs.

However, unfortunately, for several decades, due to political conflicts and serious sanctions, and the prevalence of Iranophobia among the people of other countries, Iran has serious limitations in attracting foreign tourists, who can benefit from this ancient and rich heritage of tourism as a wealth. A potential and sustainable nation have been left untouched. According to the existing physical infrastructure and human resources, in the case of proper planning, Iran can quickly become a full-fledged tourist country with unlimited material resources and an attractive tourism industry. Considering that the country's young population is also generally familiar with the English language, the boom in the tourism industry can lead to widespread entrepreneurship in the country.

Crafts, music, and cinema in Iran

Iran has a wide variety of handicrafts, including carpet weaving, carpet weaving, pen-making, carving, pottery, enameling, inlaying, and many other handicrafts. No region of Iran does not display one or more of Iran's handicrafts professionally and specifically

Iran is also the cradle of music; it has many special styles in music, many of which have their roots in the history of this land and are unique to Iran.

Film and cinema

?Although the cinema industry in Iran does not have a long history, in recent decades, the share of Iranian film awards in international circles has been worthy of attention, and many artists and directors from Iran are world famous. On the other hand, Iran's very rich and diverse culture, which has its roots in its thousands of years of history, has an infinite source of drama and filmmaking. If there are no limits to taste, will, and possibilities, the ancient and turbulent history of Iran, along with its legends, themes, and stories, has many options for planning and analysis, making films and shows, and national-epic fiction series. The lives of individual scientists, poets, and old writers and social currents of Iran's past have a wonderful ability to become dramatic works. In addition to the Iranians themselves, such appointments will have global fans. If made and paid for properly, they can be a source of more material and spiritual capital, along with the huge tourism industry.

Providing the necessary facilities for the recognition and richness of Iran's culture and civilization, along with the establishment of large national museums, can help greatly in the tourism economy, which is one of the most important economies in the world now and in the future.

Reference:

Iranology, Insights into the Urban Tourism, Ecotourism, and Geotourism, by Mansour Ghorbani. 2017, Arianzamin Publishing Co. Iran,

The Economic Geology of Iran, Springer, 2013, Mansour Ghorbani