Minister: Iran larger than thought

Iran\'s total area is larger than previously thought by some 14 percent, Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi announced on Monday. \"The actual area of Iran is 1,873,959 square kilometers (723,539 square miles),\" Vahidi said, adding that the new figure was the product of a much more precise mapping of the country, specially at the borders with the neighboring countries. \"The area given so far for Iran was lower, and now this new figure should be used,\" he added. Vahidi made the remarks while addressing a ceremony held to mark the unveiling of a new mapping software designed by the Iranian military. Most international documents and atlases, specially the geography text books used in Iranian schools, give 1,648,195 square kilometers (636,371 square miles) as the area of Iran.