.ir

Overview

.ir is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is managed by the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IRNIC). Registrations are available at the second level (.ir) and at third level beneath several category second-level domains.

History

• Introduced: 6 April 1994.
• Registry / manager: Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (operating IRNIC).
• Registered domains: 1,636,568 (data reported as of 2024-07-12).
• Test and experiment labels: .dnssec.ir has been used as a limited-term testbed for DNSSEC support.
• Pricing note: As of May 2024 IRNIC listed the registration price as 200,000 Iranian rial.

Usage and Audience

• Intended for entities connected with Iran; the TLD is popular within Iran.
• Also noted in source metadata as used for websites related to "infrared."
• Registration options support both direct second-level names (example.ir) and third-level names under structured SLDs for specific communities.

Registration Rules

• General eligibility and restrictions:

  • Registrations are generally open for Iranians and non-Iranians, though third-level registrations under certain SLDs have specific restrictions and are restricted to Iranian-related entities.
  • Applicable applicants include organizations legally represented within Iran, individuals officially residing in Iran, official Iranian representations abroad, and other entities whose activity does not conflict with Iranian laws and interests (per IRNIC rules summarized in sources).

• Disallowed or reserved names (selection):

  • Generic and sponsored TLD names (e.g., com, net, org, gov, edu, etc.) are not allowed as second-level .ir names.
  • Generic Internet-related names (per IRNIC's list).
  • Names and codes of Iranian provinces, cities and towns are reserved for respective administrative units.
  • Names of national significance (famous personalities, events, natural features, resources) are reserved and controlled by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
  • Domain names that suggest illegal activity or are publicly offensive are forbidden.
  • Applicants requesting names of religious significance must provide written approval from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

• Second-level / third-level structure and typical SLD purposes (applicant must usually provide proof of status):

  • .ir — public (general second-level registrations).
  • .ac.ir — academic institutions and research establishments (requires official license).
  • .co.ir — commercial companies (requires proof of company registration).
  • .gov.ir — government bodies (requires official authorization letter).
  • .id.ir — individuals with Iranian citizenship or legal residence (requires proof of citizenship or residence); typically one per national identity number.
  • .net.ir — ISPs and network companies approved by the Communications Regulatory Authority (requires ISP license or statutes).
  • .org.ir — non-profit organizations and associations (requires proof of registration or statutes).
  • .sch.ir — primary and secondary schools (requires proof of status from the Ministry of Education).

• Character and length rules:

  • Allowed characters: the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet (a–z), digits 0–9, and hyphen (-). Letters are case-insensitive.
  • Length: domain labels must be at least 3 and at most 63 characters.
  • Hyphen rules: hyphens cannot be the first or last character, and cannot be used simultaneously as the third and fourth characters.

• Dispute resolution:

  • IRNIC publishes a Dispute Resolution Policy for .ir domains (IRNIC Dispute Resolution Policy).

SEO and Brand Impact

• As a country-code TLD, .ir is commonly used to denote Iranian affiliation and is popular within Iran. It is the standard ccTLD for Iran-based entities and Iran-related sites.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Persian-language IDNs:

  • Persian-script internationalized domain names are available under .ایران.ir (using the Persian alphabet).
  • In 2010 ICANN approved the IDN ccTLD ایران (the Persian spelling of "Iran") following string evaluation.

• Testbed:

  • .dnssec.ir has been used as a limited-term testbed for DNSSEC support.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       IR

organisation: Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences
address:      Shahid Bahonar (Niavaran) Square
address:      Tehran 1954851167
address:      Iran (Islamic Republic of)

contact:      administrative
name:         Director
organisation: Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM)
address:      Shahid Bahonar (Niavaran) Square
address:      Tehran 1954851167
address:      Iran (Islamic Republic of)
phone:        +98 21 22828081
fax-no:       +98 21 22295700
e-mail:       admin@irnic.ir

contact:      technical
name:         CTO
organisation: Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM)
address:      Shahid Bahonar (Niavaran) Square
address:      Tehran 1954851167
address:      Iran (Islamic Republic of)
phone:        +98 21 22828080
fax-no:       +98 21 22295700
e-mail:       cto@irnic.ir

nserver:      A.NIC.IR 193.189.123.2 2001:678:b0:0:193:189:123:2
nserver:      B.NIC.IR 193.189.122.83 2001:678:b1:0:193:189:122:83
nserver:      C.NIC.IR 2a0c:6600:4:0:0:0:0:152 45.93.171.206
nserver:      D.NIC.IR 194.225.70.83 2001:14e8:c:0:194:225:70:83
ds-rdata:     47300 13 2 7ab287956a55abd60dc8697c2049738fd5eeab6f2070152b015d59929521dada
ds-rdata:     47300 13 4 fe3a9bfd3aed31cbd1e2f6b45c88d81b5cca68cdc9d46080c1c4afbd491ae3a9f6dfbfc4320111144c375d648ae3cdf6

whois:        whois.nic.ir

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.nic.ir

created:      1994-04-06
changed:      2024-10-15
source:       IANA