Iran Primer: Take a Look

Land borders:

• Afghanistan – 585 miles
• Armenia – 22 miles
• Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan exclave – 112 miles
• Azerbaijan – 270 miles
• Iraq – 911 miles
• Pakistan – 568 miles
• Turkmenistan – 620 miles
• Turkey – 312 miles

2010 population:

74.5 million

Ethnic divisions:

• Persian 51 percent
• Azeri 24 percent
• Gilaki and Mazandarani 8 percent
• Kurd 7 percent
• Arab 3 percent
• Lur 2 percent
• Baloch 2 percent
• Turkmen 2 percent
• Other 1 percent

Religious divisions:

• Muslims 98 percent:
  
  • Shiite 89 percent
  • Sunni 9 percent

• Other significant minorities-based on varying estimates:
  
  • Baha’i – 300,000-350,000
  • Jews – 20,000-30,000
  • Christians (mainly Assyrian and Armenian churches) – 300,000
  • Zoroastrians – 35,000 to 60,000

Bordering bodies of water:

• Caspian Sea – 462 miles
• Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman – 1,525 miles

Very few Americans actually have been to Iran in the past three decades, since The 1979 Revolution. Within our diplomatic, military, and political bureaucracy there is little incentive to become an Iranian expert because that is an area in which the promotions will not be rapid. Our general public is relatively ignorant on issues related to Iran. Yet Iran is a key foreign policy issue. What is the best way to inform the US public on Iranian issues? It is an experiment now, but Robin Wright is editing an internet comprehensive data source on Iran. Something comparable in a restricted access internet data base has been done for years for the US academic community. Robin Wright envisions this open access Iran Primer to help inform the general public on Iran. The purpose of the Iran Primer is to provide context and analysis of what lies ahead regarding Iran.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in early December announced the publishing of the Iran Primer, with Robin Wright as the editor. In addition to being a 300 page paperback text book, $16.00, it can be downloaded online. The Iran Primer deals with 62 subjects in10 categories. There is a PDF attachment available at the bottom of each chapter. Most important there is a weekly update author talk. Go to www.iranprimer.com or www.usip.org for the details.

Iran Primer is supported by 50 experts from 20 Think Tanks. It covers comprehensive information on Iran’s political, economic, military, foreign policy and nuclear program.

The USIP site gives “Links to Other Sites” Iran News Digest, PBS Frontline, Inside Iran, USIP-Iran, Gulf/2000 Project and Gulf/2000 Maps. The Gulf/2000 Maps cover Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Sudan.

The USIP web site has “Iran in the Region” section. You also can receive weekly USIP emails on US Iran Programs.

In the Intelligence Cycle one group collects information; a separate group evaluates the information; and a third group acts upon the information. With Iran few Americans have access to prime sources of current regime information. Nor do we have a large number of US businessmen who know the business class in Iran who can help advise our government experts on Iran. We do not have experts who evaluate the information who have lived in Iran, grown up with Iranian decision makers, and think like the young Iranians. We do not have a large number of experts to act upon the information who know post-1979 Iran.

We do have a body of academic scholars who thoroughly understand Persian history, culture, and pre-1979 Iran.

Iran is a major US foreign policy issue. The Iran Primer is a necessary beginning, a very interesting experiment to provide information to the US public on Iran.