| Nation that's home to Persepolis | 36 |
| Name derived from "Aryan" | 35 |
| Mt. Demavend is its highest point | 33 |
| Modern home of the biblical Elam | 32 |
| Modern home of ancient Persepolis | 33 |
| Mideast nation that borders the Caspian Sea | 43 |
| Member of Bush's "axis of evil" | 45 |
| Major exporter of handmade carpets | 34 |
| Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's country | 33 |
| Locale for 1999 solar eclipse watchers | 38 |
| Land with a red, white and green flag | 37 |
| Land of the Peacock Throne, once | 32 |
| Its New Year's Day is in March | 34 |
| Its Independence Day is April 1 (no foolin') | 48 |
| Its flag says "God is great" 22 times | 47 |
| It's about 200 miles south of Georgia | 41 |
| Home to Asia's highest volcano | 34 |
| Home of Sharif University of Technology | 39 |
| Former home of the Peacock Throne | 33 |
| Dr. Seuss's "If _____ the Zoo" | 44 |
| Dr. Seuss' "If __ the Circus" | 43 |
| Dr. Seuss' 'If -- the Zoo' | 38 |
| Dr. Seuss' 'If -- the Circus' | 41 |
| Dr. Seuss' ''If __ the Zoo'' | 48 |
| Country that got its current name in 1935 | 41 |
| Country subject to 2006 U.N. sanctions | 38 |
| Country not in Rushdie's travel plans | 41 |
| Country in ''rain'' | 35 |
| Country across the Strait of Hormuz from Oman | 45 |
| Country across the Persian Gulf from Saudi Arabia | 49 |
| Bani Sadr was its president in 1980-81 | 38 |
| 1979 "Canadian Caper" country | 39 |
| "If ___ the Zoo" (Dr. Seuss) | 38 |
| "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb ___" | 41 |
| "--- All the Way Home" | 32 |
| "___ my heedless ways": Dylan Thomas | 46 |
| Subject of 1987 Congressional hearings | 38 |
| Scandal during the Reagan administration | 40 |
| Ollie North's '80s "affair" | 45 |
| One forbidden to kiss for pleasure | 34 |
| One who gets their fingers dirty during elections | 49 |
| Like the Baha'i faith, by origin | 36 |
| Like Christiane Amanpour, by upbringing | 39 |
| Language family that includes Kurdish | 37 |
| Christiane Amanpour, while growing up | 37 |
| Often-sanctioned Middle East export | 35 |
| Much of it is shipped via the Strait of Hormuz | 46 |
| Middle East import frequently put under sanctions | 49 |
| Japan and China are its biggest importers | 41 |
| Dwellers on the Strait of Hormuz | 32 |
| "The Hurt Locker" setting | 35 |
| Where the Tigris and Euphrates meet | 35 |
| World's sixth largest oil producer | 38 |
| Where the Tigris meets the Euphrates | 36 |
| Where the Tigris and the Euphrates flow | 39 |
| Where the Euphrates meets the Tigris | 36 |
| Setting for "Three Kings," 1999 | 41 |
| Nation where the Tigris and Euphrates meet | 42 |
| Modern-day locale of ancient Nineveh | 36 |
| Modern home of the ancient Akkadian empire | 42 |
| Land of the Tigris and Euphrates | 32 |
| Its motto is "Allahu Akbar" | 37 |
| Its flag has Arabic script on it | 32 |
| Homeland of the thief of Baghdad | 32 |
| Home of the metal band Acrassicauda | 35 |
| Country with the ruins of ancient Nineveh | 41 |
| Country whose flag says "God is great" | 48 |
| Country under longtime U.N. sanctions | 37 |
| Birthplace of oud virtuoso Munir Bashir | 39 |
| Asian country slightly larger than California | 45 |
| A land of the Tigris and Euphrates | 34 |
| "The New Way Forward" country | 39 |
| "The Hurt Locker" locale | 34 |
| Unoccupied Middle Easterner, as of last month | 45 |
| Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, e.g. | 36 |
| President Jalal Talabani, for one | 33 |
| Operation __ Freedom (2003-2011 conflict) | 41 |
| One barred from a U.N. no-fly zone | 34 |
| Resistance following Saddam's downfall | 42 |
| Some modern-day residents of Mesopotamia | 40 |
| Participants in a modern civil war | 34 |
| Modern-day residents of Mesopotamia | 35 |
| Subject of 2002 Senate authorization | 36 |
| Subject for future Bush historians | 34 |
| Setting of the FX series "Over There" | 47 |
| It started in 2003 with the bombing of Baghdad | 46 |
| Controversial conflict since 2003 | 33 |
| 2008 presidential debate subject | 32 |
| They're sometimes rolled over | 33 |
| Things that can be rolled over, for short | 41 |
| They may be rolled over, for short | 34 |
| They may be rolled over, briefly | 32 |
| Tax planner's recommendations | 33 |
| One of Cleopatra's attendants | 33 |
| They may be SIMPLE or traditional | 33 |
| Source of some retirement income | 32 |
| Some plans for the future, briefly | 34 |
| Seniors' nest eggs, for short | 33 |
| Savings plans for the golden years, briefly | 43 |
| Savings options for the golden yrs. | 35 |