Iran

WHY IN NEWS?

Iran’s top commander General Qasem Soleimani has been killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad.

ABOUT IRAN AND LOOMING CRISIS

• The targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, could draw forceful Iranian retaliation against American interests in the region and spiral into a far larger conflict between the U.S. and Iran, endangering U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and beyond.
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that a “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the U.S.
• Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. With 82 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 18th most populous country. Its territory spans 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq. mi), making it the second largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world.
• Iran is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance.
• Tehran is the political and economic center of Iran, and the largest and most populous city in Western Asia with more than 8.8 million residents in the city and 15 million in the larger metropolitan area.

Prelims Question

Q. Which among the following countries are bordered by Iran:

1.Azerbaijan
2.Kuwait
3.Afghanistan
4.Syria
5.Iraq
6.Armenia

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)3 and 6
b)1,2,3 and 6
c)1,3,5 and 6
d)All of the above

Answer to the Prelims Question