India, June 2 -- Iran's geography makes it one of the most difficult territories in the world for a foreign military to invade and occupy. Stretched over 1.4 million square kilometres, it is the 17th largest country on Earth. Track live updates

Its natural landscape acts as a multi-layered defensive shield. It combines mountain ranges, deserts and an unpredictable coastline to neutralise the conventional military advantages of an invading force.

Iran is defined by its extreme elevation, featuring more than 390 mountains that rise above 2,000 metres and 92 peaks higher than 4,000 metres. Two massive mountain ranges surround the country's central heartland.

The sheer density of these mountains has allowed the Iranian military to spend de...