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Mining
Miners worked primarily by hand until the early 1960s, and mine owners moved the ore to refining centers by truck, rail, donkey, or camel. As public and private concerns opened new mines and quarries, they introduced mechanized methods of production. The mineral industries encompass both refining and manufacturing.
The extraction and processing of petroleum is unquestionably Iran’s single most important economic activity and the most valuable in terms of revenue, although natural gas production is increasingly important. The government-operated National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) produces petroleum for export and domestic consumption. Petroleum is moved by pipeline to the terminal of Khārk (Kharq) Island in the Persian Gulf and from there is shipped by tanker throughout the world. Iran’s main refining facility at Ābādān was destroyed during the war with Iraq, but the government has since rebuilt the facility, and production has returned to near prewar levels. The NIOC also operates refineries at Eṣfahān, Shīrāz, Lāvān Island, Tehrān, and Tabrīz; several were damaged by Iraqi forces but have since returned to production. These sites produce a variety of refined products, including aircraft fuel at the Ābādān facility and fuels for domestic heating and the transportation industry.
Iran’s vast natural gas reserves constitute more than one-tenth of the world’s total. In addition to the country’s working gas fields in the Elburz Mountains and in Khorāsān, fields have been discovered and exploitation begun in the Persian Gulf near ʿAsalūyeh, offshore in the Caspian region, and, most notably, offshore and onshore in areas of southern Iran—the South Pars field in the latter region is one of the richest in the world. The country’s gathering and distribution spur lines run to Tehrān, Kāshān, Eṣfahān, Shīrāz, Mashhad, Ahvāz, and the industrial city of Alborz, near Qazvīn. The two state-owned Iranian Gas Trunklines are the largest gas pipelines in the Middle East, and Iran is under contract to supply natural gas to Russia, eastern Europe, Pakistan, Turkey, and India through pipelines, under construction in neighboring countries, that are intended to connect Iran’s trunk lines with those of its customers.
The petrochemical industry, concentrated in the south of the country, expanded rapidly before the Islamic revolution. It, too, was largely destroyed during the Iran-Iraq War but has mostly been restored to its prewar condition. The Rāzī (formerly Shāhpūr) Petrochemical Company at Bandar-e Khomeynī (formerly Bandar-e Shāhpūr) is a subsidiary of the National Petrochemical Company of Iran and produces ammonia, phosphates, sulfur, liquid gas, and light oil.
In addition to the major coal mines found in Khorāsān, Kermān, Semnān, Māzandarān, and Gīlān, a number of smaller mines are located north of Tehrān and in Azerbaijan and Eṣfahān provinces. Deposits of lead, zinc, and other minerals are widely scattered throughout the country. Kermān is the center for Iran’s copper industry; deposits of copper are mined nationwide. Only since the 1990s has Iran begun to exploit such valuable minerals as uranium and gold, which it now mines and refines in commercially profitable amounts. Iran also extracts fireclay, chalk, lime, gypsum, ochre, and kaolin (china clay).
Power
Until the 20th century, Iran’s sources of energy were limited almost entirely to wood and charcoal. Petroleum, natural gas, and coal are now used to supply heat and produce the bulk of the country’s electricity. A system of dams generates hydroelectric power (and also supplies water for cropland irrigation).
The Atomic Energy Organization (AEO) of Iran was established in 1973 to construct a network of more than 20 nuclear power plants. By 1978 two 1,200-megawatt reactors near Būshehr on the Persian Gulf were near completion and were scheduled to begin operation early in 1980, but the revolutionary government canceled the program in 1979. One of the two reactors was completed with Russian assistance and began operation in 2011, using nuclear fuel provided by Russia; there were no plans to complete the second reactor. The revelation in 2002 of a previously undeclared uranium enrichment facility under construction in Iran provoked suspicions that Iran was seeking to construct nuclear weapons. Since then, Iran’s nuclear program, which officials contend is for peaceful purposes only, has been a major source of international tension and since 2006 has provoked escalating international sanctions against Iran.
Manufacturing
Tehrān is the largest market for domestic agricultural and manufactured products, which are shipped to the nearest town and thence to Tehrān and the provincial capitals by air, truck, rail, camel, mule, and donkey. Since craft production is localized, each city has created a market for its products in the capital and other major cities. Major manufacturing industries, which have transformed large parts of Iran since 1954, are scattered throughout the country, and their products are distributed nationwide.
Industrial development, which began in earnest in the mid-1950s, has transformed parts of the country. Iran now produces a wide range of manufactured commodities, such as automobiles, electric appliances, telecommunications equipment, industrial machinery, paper, rubber products, steel, food products, wood and leather products, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. Textile mills are centered in Eṣfahān and along the Caspian coast. Iran is known throughout the world for its handwoven carpets. The traditional craft of making these Persian rugs contributes substantially to rural incomes and is one of Iran’s most important export industries.
Until the early 1950s the construction industry was limited largely to small domestic companies. Increased income from oil and gas and the availability of easy credit, however, triggered a subsequent building boom that attracted major international construction firms to Iran. This growth continued until the mid-1970s, when, because of a sharp rise in inflation, credit was tightened and the boom collapsed. The construction industry had revived somewhat by the mid-1980s, but housing shortages have remained a serious problem, especially in the large urban centers.
Finance
The government makes loans and credits available to industrial and agricultural projects, primarily through banks. All private banks and insurance companies were nationalized in 1979, and the Islamic Bank of Iran (later reorganized as the Islamic Economy Organization and exempt from nationalization) was established in Tehrān, with branches throughout the country. Iran’s 10 banks are divided into three categories—commercial, industrial, and agricultural—but all are subject to the same regulations. In lieu of interest on loans, considered to be usury and forbidden under Islamic law, banks impose a service charge, a commission, or both. The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehrān issues the rial, the national currency.
Trade
Despite the government’s attempts to make Iran economically self-sufficient, the value of the country’s imports continues to be high. Foodstuffs account for a considerable proportion of total import value, followed by basic manufactures and machinery and transport equipment. The huge income derived from the export of petroleum products has generally created a favorable annual balance of trade. Other exports include carpets, fruits and nuts, chemicals, and metals. Iran’s leading trading partners include China, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Germany, and Turkey.
Services
Despite efforts in the 1990s toward economic liberalization, government spending—including expenditures by quasi-governmental foundations that dominate the economy—has been high. Estimates of service sector spending in Iran are regularly more than two-fifths of the GDP, and much of that is government-related spending, including military expenditures, government salaries, and social service disbursements.
Until the early 1960s, little attention was paid to tourism. Lack of facilities made travel in Iran a rugged experience. The Pahlavi government began paving highways and constructing hotels, and the number of tourists increased steadily in the years 1964–78. However, the political turmoil of 1978, which led to the overthrow of the monarchy, practically destroyed the tourist industry. The Islamic regime subsequently discouraged tourism from non-Muslim countries in an effort to exclude Western influences, and the services that depended on tourism collapsed as a result. Despite government attempts to promote Iran as a tourist destination, services related to tourism remain a small sector of the economy.
Labor and taxation
Although Iranian workers have, in theory, a right to form labor unions, there is, in actuality, no union system in the country. Workers are represented ostensibly by the Workers’ House, a state-sponsored institution that nevertheless attempts to challenge some state policies. Guild unions operate locally in most areas but are limited largely to issuing credentials and licenses. The right of workers to strike is generally not respected by the state, and since 1979 strikes have often been met by police action.
Roughly one-fourth of Iran’s labor force is engaged in manufacturing and construction. Another one-fifth is engaged in agriculture, and the remainder are divided almost evenly between occupations in services, transportation and communication, and finance. Women are allowed to work outside the home but face restrictions in a number of occupations, and the number of women in the workforce is relatively small in light of their level of education. Some of the numerous refugees in the country are allowed to work but, with the exception of a highly skilled minority, are generally restricted to low-wage, manual labor positions in construction and agriculture.
The minimum age for workers in Iran is 15 years, but large sectors of the economy (including small businesses, agricultural concerns, and family-owned enterprises) are exempted. The workweek is six days (48 hours), and the day of rest—as in many Muslim countries—is on Friday.
Income from petroleum and natural gas exports typically provides the largest share of government revenue, although this varies with the fluctuations in world petroleum markets. Taxes include those on corporations and import duties. In addition to these mandatory taxes, Islamic taxes are collected on a voluntary basis. These include an individual’s income tax (Arabic khums, “one-fifth”); an alms-tax (zakāt), which has a variable rate and benefits charitable causes; and a land tax (kharāj), the rate of which is based on the principle of one-tenth (ʿūshr) of the value of crops, unless the land is tax-exempt.
Transportation and telecommunications
Iran’s large centers of population are widely scattered, and transportation is made difficult by mountainous and desert terrain. Low funding and poor maintenance long reduced the efficiency of the highways. Nevertheless, motor vehicles—buses and trucks in particular—are the most important means of transportation for both passengers and goods. Since the early 1990s the Iranian government has allocated considerable resources to road construction and repair, and about half the roads are now paved.
The principal line of the state-owned railway system runs between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, with spur lines to many provincial capitals. In 1971 the railway was linked through Turkey with the European system; the link stimulated trade and tourism appreciably, undercutting airfares and significantly reducing sea transportation time. The Iranian portion of a line eastward to Singapore was completed as far as Mashhad by 1971. There is also a connection with railroads in Transcaucasia via Jolfā in the northwest, and a line completed in 1991 between Bafq and Bandar ʿAbbās links Iran’s rail system to Central Asia; thus, Iran has begun to promote itself as a cost-efficient transport outlet for the states in that region.
The Kārūn is the only navigable river and is used to transport passengers and cargo. Lake Urmia has regular passenger and cargo ferry service between the port of Sharafkhāneh in the northeast and Golmānkhāneh in the southwest. Iran is served by five major ports on the Persian Gulf, the largest being Bandar ʿAbbās. Oil terminals at Ābādān and Khārk Island, destroyed or damaged in the war with Iraq, have since been rebuilt, as have port facilities at Khorramshahr and Bandar-e Khomeynī. Iran has expanded its facilities at the port of Būshehr and built a new port at Chāh Bahār (Bandar Beheshtī) on the Gulf of Oman. Caspian seaports, including Bandar-e Anzalī (formerly Bandar-e Pahlavī) and Bandar-e Torkaman (formerly Bandar-e Shah), are primarily used for trade with nations to the north.
The state-owned airline, Iran Air, serves the major cities and provincial capitals. Some major European, Asian, and African airlines also serve Iran. Tehrān, Ābādān, Eṣfahān, Shīrāz, and Bandar ʿAbbās have international airports.
Telecommunications media in Iran are mostly state-owned, and during the 1990s the state committed significant resources to developing and expanding its communications infrastructure. During that time the number of telephones nearly doubled. Telephone service was increased to rural areas, and by 2000 virtually every Iranian had access to service. Cellular telephones and the Internet have provided Iranians, and especially Iranian youth, with a window to the outside world and accelerated interest in global culture.
