LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Iran: United Nations
built 160 days ago
The ancient nation of Iran, historically known to the West as Persia and once a major empire in its own right, has been overrun frequently and has had its territory altered throughout the centuries. Invaded by Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Mongols, and others--and often caught up in the affairs of larger powers--Iran has always reasserted its national identity and has developed as a distinct political and cultural entity.
Source:
About 10% of the land in Iran is arable; agriculture contributes just over 20% to the gross national product and employs a third of the labor force. The main food-producing areas are in the Caspian region and in the valleys of the northwest. Wheat, the most important crop, is grown mainly in the west and northwest; rice is the major crop in the Caspian region. Barley, corn, cotton, sugar beets, tea, hemp, tobacco, fruits (including citrus), nuts, and dates are ... grown, and livestock is raised. Illicit cultivation of the opium poppy is fairly common.
Source:
[T]he Quds Force is cloaked in secrecy inside Iran and the subject of considerable guesswork from scholars in the United States, who in interviews this week offered estimates of its size ranging from 3,000 to 50,000 men. The true number, along with details of the strength and budget of the entire Revolutionary Guard, is hidden even from Parliament, said Milani, according to legislators he has spoken with.
Source:
Despite serious objections by the US, the IAEA has mapped out a plan of action that appears to be working in Iran's favor (for now) but which can be terminated at the United States' whim. The US is, after all, the lone superpower that can dictate and persuade (by using coercion). Or, it can think beyond hegemony and stay on the right path, by knocking on Iran's door for further dialogue.
Source:
To be sure, sodomy is punishable by death in Iran, but such executions have been historically extremely rare compared with the routine incidence of same-sex sexual behavior in Iran. Much was made in the United States of two boys who were executed in the city of Mashhad a few years ago for “being homosexual,” as the Western press put it. However, they were executed because they had essentially committed what we would call statutory rape on an under-aged boy.
Source:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made Iran another offer it could refuse last week. Speaking in Davos, Ms. Rice said that the United States didn’t want Iran as a “permanent enemy” and that better relations were possible if Tehran would give up its nuclear fuel program.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
United Nations