Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
IRAN
or especially formerly Persia geographical name country SW Asia bordering in N on Caspian Sea & in S on Persian Gulf & Gulf of Oman; an Islamic republic since 1979, formerly an empire capital Tehran area 635,932 square miles (1,647,064 square kilometers ), population 59,570,000 , irani adjective or noun