Iran is the 17th biggest country on earth by population and by land mass.
More people live in Iran than in any of Western Europe's biggest countries, like Germany, the United Kingdom or France.
We have 3.3 to 3.4 million people in Utah. Iran is 27 times bigger with more than 90 million.
It's also about three times the population of Venezuela, and more than twice the population of Iraq.
Iran's capital of Tehran has more than 9 million residents by U.N. estimates from last July — the world's 38th biggest city, about the same size as Paris and Rio. In the U.S., only New York and Los Angeles are bigger.
We think of Iran in relation to Arab countries, but it's far different. It's about 1,000 miles from Tel Aviv, and more than 700 miles from Qatar, where the U.S. bases troops and equipment.
Another sense of how different Iran is from what we think: they have had almost three dozen ski resorts. Iran has the highest mountain in West Asia. Mount Damavand is over 18,000 feet, and you can see its snow-capped peak from Tehran.
The mountain and the city are also near the Caspian Sea, which is one reason why Iran has been an important ally of Russia, with a trade route not involving any oceans with Western navies.
