Iran ranks 1st in fruit production in the Middle East and North Africa. Iran has been ranked between 8th and 10th in global fruit production in different years. Iran produces Persian walnut, melon, tangerine, citrus fruits, Kiwifruit, dates, cherries, pomegranates, oranges and raisins.

A number of fruits have originated in Iran, including Persian walnut, Muskmelon, Lime (fruit) and Pomegranate. The country is blessed with a variety of favorable meteorological conditions; suitable for fruit production. The southern seaside lands of the Caspian Sea, and the country supplies finest conditions for citrus production. Due to the available statistics, Iran now ranks 1st in the globe in the production of Pomegranate, 2nd in Date (fruit), 3rd in Common fig, 3rd in Cherry, 7th in Grape and 7th in Orange (fruit). Kiwifruit production, although a relatively new activity in this part of the world, has growed increasing importance in last few years and the Iranian kiwifruit promises to become a great export item of the agricultural sector of the country.

Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53

Iran (ⁱ/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران‎ [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران‎ Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.

The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km² (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.

Hameed Baloch was an activist for the Baloch Students Organization (BSO) who was executed by the Pakistani government in 1981, and is regarded as a heroic martyr by Baloch nationalists. He was arrested on 9 December 1979, while he was a student at Government Degree College Turbat, on charges of firing at a military officer from the Gulf state of Oman who was recruiting Pakistani Baloch mercenary soldiers from Balochistan province to suppress the Dhofar Rebellion. Oman at the time was facing a Marxist–Leninist insurgency in its Dhofar province. Ever since Oman took control of the Balochistan enclave of Gwadar in the 18th Century (now under Pakistani control), it had hired foot soldiers from Balochistan to serve in the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces.

The BSO, being a leftist organization, was opposed to the recruitment to fight against the Dhofari rebels,who's ideology it shared, fearing it would earn notoriety for the Baloch in the eyes of progressive forces throughout the world and weaken the Baloch nationalist movement in Pakistan. Secondly they saw it as aiming to 'pervert' the youth in Baloch society against Marxist–Leninist teachings by offering huge salaries for their services in a mercenary army.