Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, formerly and internationally the official name of Iran from 6th century BC until 1935 was Persia, is a country in Central Eurasia now a part of Middle East. Located in the heart of the Persian Gulf, an important oil-producing area, Iran is bounded by the Gulf of Oman to its southeast and adjacent with the Caspian Sea to its north. Shi'a Islam is the official religion, and Persian is the official language. The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km², Iran has a population of over seventy million. Iran borders lies with nine countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia to the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and Turkey and Iraq to the west.
Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC. Throughout history, Iran has been of geo-strategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and as a regional power. Iran is a founding member of the United Nations (UN), Non-Align Movement (NAM), Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC). The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran occupies an important position in international energy security and world economy due to its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means "Land of the Aryans" or the "Land of Kindness" is used as an alternative name for Iran in Persian literature and Iranian media.
Iran is divided into 30 provinces but united under one flag and world history have seen it in times of 1979 revolution under the great leader late Ayatollah Khomeini, in Iran-Iraq war for 11 years and then a continuous confrontation and the cold war with United States of America, Iran and Iranian nation has a strong commitment with their Islamic values and land. In these days, Iran is celebrating the same values in the form of 29th anniversary of Iranian revolution "the National Day". For this purpose the Ambassador H.E Mr. Mashallah Shakeri along with his wife Mrs. Nayereh Shakeri hosted a grand reception at the Embassy. A large number of people attended and the chief guests were the Caretaker Federal Ministers of Population Welfare Dr. A.J Khan, Finance Minister Salman Shah and Commerce and Privatization Minister Shehzada Alam Manu respectively. There were many other prominent figures including Former Pakistani Ambassador Yaqub Ali Khan, Akram Zaki, Leader of Jamat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Liaquat Baloch, renowned intellectuals Dr. Shireen Mazari, Agha Murtaza Pooya, Anver Baig, Religious leaders Sayed Sajid Ali Naqvi, and Sajjada Nasheen of Eidgah Sharif Pir Naqeeb-ur Rehamn, Leader of house Mr. Waseem Sajjad. Large number of envoys and military attaches along with their spouses attended the reception including the Dean of Diplomatic Corps Mr. Saper Berdiniyazov, the Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps Mr. Ali Awadh Asseri along with large number of Arab, Muslim, Asian, African and Latin American ambassadors. One could also spot the Chinese Ambassador Mr. Luo Zhao Hui. Many Western and European envoys were in attendance including the High Commissioner of Australia Ms Zorica McCarthy, the Ambassador of Austria Dr. Michael Stigelbaur, the Ambassador of Belgium Mr. Michel Goffin, the Ambassador of Cuba Mr. Gustavo Machin Gomez, the Ambassador of France Mr. Regis de Belenet, the DCM of the Germany Embassy Ms Ina Lepel, Ambassador of Greece Petros Mavroidis, the Ambassador of Poland Mr. Krzystof Febnicki, the Ambassador of Russia Sergey Peskov, the Ambassador of Sweden Ms Anna Karin Enestrom and the Ambassador of Switzerland Mr. Markus Peter. Representatives of both print and electronic media were also there.
There was a festive mood in the function. A group of students from Iranian school in Islamabad played the national anthems of Iran and Pakistan received a loud applause and delight from audience. Special, traditional and melodious Iranian symphony was played throughout the proceedings. As usual, Mr. Shakeri was all around looking after his guests with his usual smile and hospitality. The noticeable aspect of this reception is the presence of the spouses of the Iranian diplomats. Probably, Sahkeri was deliberately sending a message that the Iranian revolution empowered the women as per the injunctions of Islam though the Iranian women wear the customary veils. In short, whole of the reception resembles the Iranian revolution day of 11th February 1979 under the one leadership of late Khomeini. Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini was a senior Shi'a Muslim cleric, Islamic philosopher and marja (religious authority), the political leader. He along with the brave Iranian nation had overthrown the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (the last Shah of Iran). Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader - the paramount political figure of the new Islamic Republic until his death in June 3, 1989.
Khomeini was a marja al-taqlid, (source of imitation) and important spiritual leader to many Shia Muslims who developed the innovative theory of velayat-e-faqih, the "guardianship of the jurisconsult (clerical authority)" that provided the theological basis for his rule of Iran. He was named Time's Man of the Year in 1979 and also one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Internationally he also had great influence, and has been called "the virtual face of Islam in Western popular culture.". He has given great courage to Iranian nation and that’s why today Persian nation is fighting continuously against the conspiracies of Israel, West and US. Now, Since Iran was placed on the US list of ‘axis of evil’ in January 2003 and following the path of the great leader (late Khomeini), Ahmadinejad is a strong critic of the US president George W. Bush and his Administration. He (Ahmadinejad) supports strengthened relations with Russia, China, Venezuela, Syria, and the Persian Gulf states. He has said Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and has refused to end enrichment despite United Nations Security Council resolutions. He has called for the dissolution of the state of Israel and its government with strong support for Palestinian Muslims. He has attempted to develop stronger, more intimate ties with both Afghanistan and Pakistan to the East in order to ensure "regional stability". Moreover, Since November 2001, Pak-Iran Relations have been on the road to improvement when Ahmadinejad's administration personally shown great interest and has taken part in establishing the "peace pipeline"; a pipeline from Iran that will eventually fuel both Pakistan and India. In theory, the plan will help to integrate South Asian economies, and, by consequence, calm tensions between Pakistan and India.
A journey of friendship between Pakistan and Iran starts with ties converted into a relationship and finally through a conscious effort termed into friendship. A long-term, trust-based, interstate relationship often generates a calculus of low risk-high return long-term benefits. Under the Islamic umbrella, Pakistan and Iran’s responses to the new geo-political developments within and outside of the regional context also influence the compulsions of their bilateral relationship. These developments would include the US military presence in Afghanistan, the US targeting of the ‘axis of evil’, the war against the so-called ‘Islamic terrorism’, missile race in the region, development of India’s aggressive nuclear capability, and its aggressive assertion of unilateralism and settlement of other inter-state disputes.
Pak-Iran geography and people-based vital elements of culture, history and faith, which will become increasingly relevant in internal and external power relations, are important permanent factors. Both the countries have the same voice on key strategic issues including Iraq, Kashmir, Palestine, Afghanistan, on bilateral nuclear issues of the countries and multilateralism, as well as the intention to enhance cooperation. In short, today Pakistan and whole of the Muslim Umma is harvesting the fruits of Iranian revolution of 1979. The Iranian Revolution no doubt due to its success is a beacon of hope for the Muslim Ummah that is passing through a very critical stage in its history.