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used for the gravel slopes that surround the kavir, a salt crust that covers marshes of black mud.
    As the crust is easily broken, many parts of these deserts remain unexplored.
    Iran’s oil reserves are concentrated in the southwest near the Iraqi border, and offshore in the Persian Gulf.
    “Less than fourteen percent of the country receives over fifty-two percent of the annual rainfall. This is mostly in the northwest, in the area that runs from Tehran to the Soviet and Turkish borders. Even though the land is quite mountainous, it is in this region, in the valleys, that the majority of the population and agriculture is located. Temperatures range from below the freezing point during the winter to a high of one hundred thirty two degrees in the summer, but there are parts of the Elburz Mountains where snow never disappears.”
    Lieutenant Matthews stopped for a moment while her NCO changed maps to show population densities and divisions. She looked at both the brigade commander and the XO to see whether they were tracking the briefing. The
    XO
    gave her a nod of approval.
    “Last estimates place the population at approximately thirty-five million.
    Because of the growth rate and the generally poor quality of the medical care, the population is an extremely young one, with a median age in the low twenties. While the majority of the population in the central region is
    Persian with Indo-European origins, there are several minorities. The most important of these are the Turkomans in the northwest, who are interrelated with other members of this group in both Turkey and the Soviet Union; the Kurds in the west, who are related to compatriots in Iraq; and the Baluchis in the southeast, who are related to the Baluchis in
    Pakistan. Ninety-eight percent of the population is Muslim. Iran is the only country in the world where the majority of the population is Shiite. Only among the Kurds, Baluchis, Turkomans and Arabs living in the country does the Sunni Muslim belief predominate.”
    She paused again while her NCO put up a new map, one showing the symbols of military units. The brigade commander was busily writing notes on small three-by five cards. The XO, with a faint smile of approval, nodded for her to continue.
    “The first impression that the current invasion by the Soviets is a bolt out of the blue is incorrect.” She paused for a moment and watched the brigade commander noticeably straighten up with a quizzical look on his face.
    “Are you trying to tell me, Lieutenant, that we knew about this?”
    Without flinching, Matthews continued, “Apparently the Central Intelligence
    Agency, the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency each were collecting data on the modernization and buildup of Soviet forces in the area but passed it off as either routine modernization or preparation for the rotation or reinforcement of forces in Afghanistan. The
    Soviets have maintained a normal level of activities in all other areas of the world, especially in Europe, where they have already begun their semiannual rotation of recruits. As a result of this normality, there was an insufficient increase in intelligence indicators to warrant an increase in the Watchcon level.” Again Lieutenant Matthews paused for a moment to let this last bit of information sink in before proceeding.
    “The current Soviet offensive appears to be following the same basic plan as its 1941 invasion of Iran, with a few new twists, these primarily being amphibious landings along the Caspian Sea here at Bandar-a Anzali and
    Astaneh and airborne assaults reported at Khvoy, Tabriz and Rasht.
    Major ground forces in the northeast include one combined-arms army moving along an axis from Jolia to Tabriz through the Zagros Mountains and a second combined-arms army moving along the coastal plain of the Caspian Sea. A third army of unknown composition is in reserve south of Baku. In the northeast, a corps sized element is moving west along an axis