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Hezbollah

(Encyclopedia)Hezbollah [Arab., = Party of God], Lebanese Shiite political party and militia. Founded in 1982 with Iranian help to oppose Israeli forces occupying S Lebanon, Hezbollah launched guerrilla attacks...

Nahavand

(Encyclopedia)Nahavand nähävändˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 59,307), Hamadan prov., W Iran. It is an agricultural trade center. Nahavand was the scene of a decisive victory of the Arabs over the Persians in 641 or ...

Chagai

(Encyclopedia)Chagai chäˈgī [key], town, W Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, on the trade route to Afghanistan and Iran. Pastoral Baluchi and Brahui inhabit the region, which is noted for its Oriental ...

Istakhr

(Encyclopedia)Istakhr ĭstäˈkər [key], old town, S Iran. Built largely from the ruins of ancient Persepolis, 3 mi (4.8 km) away, it was a capital of the Sassanid dynasty. Istakhr stubbornly resisted (640–49) t...

Sari

(Encyclopedia)Sari särēˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 167,602), capital of Mazandaran prov., N Iran, near the Caspian Sea. It is the trade center for a farm region where citrus fruit, cotton, rice, and sugarcane are g...

Qa'em Shahr

(Encyclopedia)Qa'em Shahr käˈĕm shär [key], city (1991 pop. 123,684), Mazandaran prov., N Iran. Manufactures include textiles and food products; a thermal power plant is there. It is a road and rail transport c...

Middle East

(Encyclopedia)Middle East, term traditionally applied by western Europeans to the countries of SW Asia and NE Africa lying W of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Thus defined it includes Cyprus, the Asian part of T...

Soleimani, Qasem

(Encyclopedia)Soleimani, Qasem, or Qassem Suleimani käˈsəm Sōləmänˈē [key], 1957–2020, Iranian general. He joined the Revolutionary Guards following the 1979 revolution and was considered a hero of the Ir...

Sistani, Ali Husaini

(Encyclopedia)Sistani, Ali Husaini or Husayni ho͞osānˈē äl– [key], 1930–, Shiite grand ayatollah in Iraq, b. Mashhad, Iran. Educated in religious schools in his native Iran, he went to Shiite holy city of ...

Sahand

(Encyclopedia)Sahand sähändˈ [key], peak, 12,140 ft (3,700 m) high, NW Iran, S of Tabriz. It is snow-covered most of the year and is traditionally associated with the prophet Zoroaster. ...