Country Profile: Iran

— -- Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling shah was forced into exile following a fierce campaign by conservative clerical forces against Western influences.

The revolution was led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Moussavi Khomeini, who assumed control from Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who had been Iran's shah for nearly four decades.

Khomeini sought the shah's capture, and when it was learned that he had gone to the United States for medical treatment, militant students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding its occupants hostage for over a year.

Change, But at What Pace?

The issue of how rapidly the country should open up to modernizing influences continues to dominate Iranian politics and society.

Iran has opened up its political process in recent years. President Mohammad Khatami, elected in 1997, pledges commitment to economic reforms and has indicated he will pursue diversification of Iran's oil-dependent economy.

Khatami's election raised hopes in the West that Iran would embark on new era of international detente and stability. But U.S. intelligence sources say Iran continues to produce weapons of mass destruction and to provide safe haven for terrorists opposed to the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Most of Iran's 66 million residents are Shiite Muslims. About 10 percent are Sunii Muslims.