Iran Municipalities Exam cheat sheet

Iran's administrative divisions: 31 provinces (ostan), each headed by a governor-general (ostandar); provinces split into counties (shahrestan) headed by a governor (farmandar), then districts (bakhsh) and rural districts (dehestan).

The Ministry of Interior (Vezarat-e Keshvar) supervises provincial governors and, through them, municipal councils; the Supreme Council of Provinces coordinates provincial affairs.

The Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles) has 290 members elected for four-year terms; it drafts ordinary legislation, while the Guardian Council reviews bills for compatibility with sharia and the constitution.

The Expediency Discernment Council (Majma-e Tashkhis-e Maslahat) resolves deadlocks between the Majles and the Guardian Council and advises the Supreme Leader.

The Assembly of Experts (Majles-e Khobregan) has 88 members elected for eight years; it selects and may dismiss the Supreme Leader.

The City and Village Councils (shura-ha) are elected by popular vote for four-year terms; municipal councils then choose the mayor (shahrdar), subject to the Ministry of Interior's approval.

Iran's fiscal year runs from 21 March (1 Farvardin) to 20 March; the national budget is drafted by the government and approved by the Majles.

Iran became a founding member of OPEC in 1960; oil and gas revenues dominate exports, and the National Development Fund (Sanduq-e Tose'e-ye Melli) receives a statutory share of oil income.

Persian is written in the Arabic-derived script with 32 letters; it adds four letters not in Arabic: پ (pe), چ (che), ژ (zhe), گ (gaf).

Persian has six vowel phonemes: three long (ā, i, u) written with ا, ی, و and three short (a, e, o) normally unwritten.

The ezafe (kasre-ye ezafe) links a noun to its modifier: ketāb-e sabz (the green book); it is written as a final ـه in words ending in silent he (xāne-ye man).

Word order is Subject–Object–Verb; the object marker را (rā) follows a definite direct object: ketāb rā xāndam (I read the book).

The Shahnameh of Ferdowsi (completed c. 1010 CE) is the national epic, roughly 50,000 couplets in motaqāreb metre, covering Iran's mythical and historical kings.

Major classical poets: Rudaki (father of Persian poetry), Ferdowsi, Khayyam (quatrains), Nezami (Khamse), Rumi (Masnavi), Sa'di (Golestan, Bustan), Hafez (ghazals), Jami (last great classical poet).

Classical forms: ghazal (lyric, usually 5–15 couplets with a radif), qasida (panegyric), masnavi (rhyming couplets, used for epics and didactic works), ruba'i (quatrain).

Contemporary prose and poetry: Sadegh Hedayat (Buf-e Kur), Nima Yushij (founder of New Poetry, she'r-e now), Forugh Farrokhzad, Ahmad Shamlou, Simin Daneshvar (Savushun).

Persian proverbs and idioms (zarb-ol-masal) are commonly tested; e.g. 'har ke bām-e bishtar, barf-e bishtar' (the higher the roof, the more the snow).

The Five Pillars (Osul-e Din in Twelver Shia framing: tawhid, nubuwwat, ma'ad; plus 'adl and imamat) - the practical pillars are prayer (namaz), fasting (ruzeh), alms (zakat), pilgrimage (hajj), and struggle (jihad).

Obligatory daily prayers number 17 rak'ats: 2 (Fajr), 4 (Zuhr), 4 (Asr), 3 (Maghrib), 4 (Isha).

Fasting (sawm) is obligatory in Ramadan, the ninth lunar month; it is waived for travellers, the ill, pregnant women, and the elderly, with qada or fidyah compensation.

Hajj is performed in Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth lunar month; its core rites include ihram, tawaf of the Kaaba, sa'y between Safa and Marwa, and standing at Arafat on 9 Dhu al-Hijjah.

Zakat is generally 2.5% (one-fortieth) on specific wealth categories; khums in Twelver Shia practice is one-fifth of annual surplus income.

The Quran has 114 surahs and 6,236 verses (by the Kufi count); the longest surah is Al-Baqarah (2), the shortest Al-Kawthar (108).

Twelver Shia recognize twelve Imams, beginning with Ali ibn Abi Talib and ending with Muhammad al-Mahdi; the Occultation (ghaybat) is divided into minor and major periods.

Islamic lunar calendar months in order: Muharram, Safar, Rabi' al-Awwal, Rabi' al-Thani, Jumada al-Ula, Jumada al-Thani, Rajab, Sha'ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah.

Percentage change = (new − old) / old × 100; a 20% increase followed by a 20% decrease yields 0.96 of the original, i.e. a net 4% loss.

Simple interest = P × r × t; compound interest = P(1 + r)^t − P, where r is the per-period rate as a decimal.

Average (mean) = sum of values / count; for grouped data use the weighted mean Σ(w·x)/Σw.

Ratio and proportion: if a : b = c : d then ad = bc; to divide a quantity Q in ratio a : b, shares are Qa/(a+b) and Qb/(a+b).

Area formulas: rectangle lw; triangle ½bh; circle πr²; trapezoid ½(a+b)h; volume of a cylinder πr²h, of a sphere (4/3)πr³.

Pythagorean theorem a² + b² = c² for right triangles; common triples: 3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17.

Probability of an event = favourable outcomes / total equally likely outcomes; P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A and B).

Work-rate problems: combined rate = 1/t₁ + 1/t₂; time together = 1 / (1/t₁ + 1/t₂).

Unit conversion: 1 hectare = 10,000 m²; 1 km² = 1,000,000 m²; 1 litre = 1,000 cm³.

In Microsoft Excel, absolute references use $ (e.g. $A$1) to lock row and column; relative references shift when copied; mixed references lock only one part.

Common Excel functions: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT (numbers only), COUNTA (non-empty cells), IF(condition, value_if_true, value_if_false), VLOOKUP, SUMIF, and ROUND.

Excel error values: #DIV/0! (division by zero), #N/A (lookup not found), #REF! (invalid reference), #VALUE! (wrong argument type), ##### (column too narrow).

In Word, styles control headings and enable automatic tables of contents; Ctrl+S saves, Ctrl+Z undoes, Ctrl+F finds, Ctrl+P prints.

In PowerPoint, Slide Master governs fonts, colours, and layout across all slides; F5 starts the slideshow from the beginning, Shift+F5 from the current slide.

File extensions: .docx (Word), .xlsx (Excel), .pptx (PowerPoint), .pdf (portable document), .csv (comma-separated values), .zip (compressed archive).

A spreadsheet cell address combines column letter and row number (e.g. C7); the Name Box displays the active cell address.

Freeze Panes keeps header rows or columns visible while scrolling; it is set from the View tab.

Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+C copy, Ctrl+V paste, Ctrl+X cut, Alt+Tab switch windows, Ctrl+Shift+Esc opens Task Manager in Windows.

Iran's Municipalities Law (Qanun-e Shahrdariha, 1955, as amended) defines the municipality as a public non-governmental institution with financial and administrative independence.

The Islamic city council (shura-ye eslami-ye shahr) is elected for four years; it approves the municipal budget, bylaws, and the mayor's appointment, subject to Ministry of Interior confirmation.

The mayor (shahrdar) must hold Iranian citizenship and relevant qualifications; the Ministry of Interior may suspend or dismiss a mayor under statutory grounds.

Municipal revenue sources include property taxes (dar-amad-ha-ye omumi), construction fees (avarez-e sakhteman), business licence fees, and government grants; oil revenue is not a direct municipal source.

The municipality issues building permits (parvaneh-ye sakhteman) and occupancy certificates; construction without a permit is subject to fines and demolition orders.

Municipal commissions handle: Article 100 Commission (building violations), Article 77 Commission (green space and land use), and the tax objection board.

Urban master plans (tarh-e jame'-e shahri) and detailed plans (tarh-e tafsili) are approved by the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture (Shura-ye 'Ali-ye Shahr-sazi).

Public participation tools include neighbourhood councils (shura-yari) and public hearings; the municipality must publish its budget and annual report.

Concrete compressive strength is specified by cylinder or cube tests at 28 days; common grades C20, C25, C30 correspond to characteristic strengths of 20, 25, 30 MPa.

Water-cement ratio controls strength and durability; lower w/c ratio increases strength but reduces workability, which is adjusted with admixtures.

Standard concrete cover: 25–40 mm for slabs and beams in normal conditions; 50 mm or more for foundations exposed to soil.

Rebar (milgard) sizes in Iran: No. 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 28, 32 mm diameter; No. 12 is common for slabs.

Seismic design in Iran follows Standard 2800 (Ayin-nameh-ye Tarh-e Larzeh-ee); Iran is divided into four seismic hazard zones, with Zone 1 the highest risk.

Soil bearing capacity (q_all) is determined by plate load tests or SPT; typical values: 100–200 kPa for dense sand, 50–100 kPa for stiff clay.

Asphalt pavement layers: subgrade, sub-base, base, and surface course (asphalt concrete); compaction must reach 95–98% of maximum dry density (Proctor test).

Beam deflection limits: typically L/240 for floors and L/360 for roofs under service loads, where L is the span.

Curing of concrete must continue for at least 7 days (normal cement) to reach adequate strength and reduce shrinkage cracking.

The accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity; every transaction preserves this balance (double-entry bookkeeping).

Debit increases assets and expenses; credit increases liabilities, equity, and revenue. Debits must equal credits in every journal entry.

Accrual basis recognizes revenue when earned and expenses when incurred, regardless of cash movement; cash basis records only cash flows.

Depreciation methods: straight-line = (cost − salvage) / useful life; declining balance applies a fixed rate to the book value each year.

The trial balance lists all ledger balances; total debits must equal total credits before financial statements are prepared.

Financial statements: balance sheet (statement of financial position), income statement (profit and loss), cash flow statement, and statement of changes in equity.

Public finance in Iran: the annual budget (budget-e salaneh) is submitted to the Majles; the Plan and Budget Organization (Sazman-e Barnameh va Budjeh) prepares it.

The National Development Fund (Sanduq-e Tose'e-ye Melli) receives a statutory share of oil and gas revenues for development projects and future generations.

Value Added Tax (VAT) in Iran was introduced in 2008 and is collected on goods and services; the standard rate has been adjusted over time (currently 10% as of 2023, subject to change).

Administrative decisions must satisfy legality (qanuniyat), proportionality, and due process; the Administrative Justice Court (Divan-e Edalat-e Edari) reviews complaints against government bodies.

The Civil Service Management Law (Qanun-e Modiriyat-e Khedmat-e Keshvari, 2007) governs recruitment, promotion, discipline, and retirement of civil servants.

Merit-based selection requires public announcement, written examination, and interview; nepotism and favouritism are prohibited under the law.

Official correspondence format in Iran: date, reference number (shomareh), subject (mozu'), addressee, body, and signature with official seal.

Records must be classified by confidentiality levels: ordinary (adi), confidential (mahramaneh), and top secret (kheyli mahramaneh); retention periods are set by the National Archives.

Grievance procedures: an employee may appeal disciplinary decisions to the Administrative Justice Court or the relevant board of appeals within statutory deadlines.

The Administrative Procedure Law requires written reasons for decisions affecting rights; oral hearings are held where the law provides.

Office workflow: incoming mail is registered (andākht), routed to the responsible unit, and answered with a numbered outgoing letter (sāder).