Iran

In the Middle East, Iran meets the Indian Ocean at the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of OmanTerrain is rugged and mountainous, with a desert basin and coastal plains. Most of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by rangeland. Iran has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians, mammals and reptiles is also high. The rarity of marine fish and mammals is also high. Challenges to biodiversity include air pollution from vehicle emissions, oil refineries, and industrial effluents; deforestation; soil salination and desertification; drought; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; and water pollution.