The tricolor design of the Iranian flag has been in use since at least the 18th century. The central emblem of a sword with flanking crescents was added in 1980. The inscription Allah o Akbar (God is Great) was added at the same time along the edges of the red and green bands to commemorate the return of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Iran in 1979. It is repeated 22 times.

The capital of Iran is Tehran.

The area of Iran is about 1,648,000 sq km (about 636,000 sq mi).

Until the 1930s Iran was known abroad as Persia.