Ask the Times

By TIMES WIRES
Published February 6, 2007

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When did Iran change its name from Persia to Iran?

In 1935, the government of what was then Persia requested the countries with which it had diplomatic relations to start calling it Iran, which is roughly translated as "Land of the Aryans" in Farsi, the language of Iran. Diplomatic courtesy dictated that they oblige.

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