• Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
• Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 53 00 E
• Map references: Middle East
• Area:
  
  Total: 1.648 million sq km
  Land: 1.636 million sq km
  Water: 12,000 sq km
• Area - comparative: slightly larger than Alaska
• Land boundaries:
  
  Total: 5,440 km
  Border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijan-proper 432 km,
  Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey
  499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km
• Coastline: 2,440 km
• Note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)
• Maritime claims:
  
  Contiguous zone: 24 nm
  Continental shelf: natural prolongation
  Exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in the Persian Gulf
  Territorial sea: 12 nm
• Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
• Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
• Elevation extremes:
  
  Lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
  Highest point: Qolleh-ye Damavand 5,671 m
• Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur