Iran national football team (Persian: تیم ملی فوتبال مردان ایران, romanized: Tīm-e Melli-e Fūtbāl-e Mardān-e Īrān), recognised by FIFA as IR Iran, represents Iran in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). Between December 2014 until May 2018, Iran was the highest-ranked team in Asia, the longest continuous period of time that a team has held that distinction.