Iran also called Persia and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan, to the southeast by Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Iran has a population of 83 million. It is the second largest country in the Middle East, and its capital and largest city is Tehran.  The Government of Iran is an Islamic theocracy which includes elements of a presidential democracy, with the ultimate authority vested in an autocratic “Supreme Leader”, a position held by Ali Khamenei since 1989 following Khomeini’s death.