Languages of Iran
Native speakers of Armenian branch of Indo-European languages included in the group that includes less than 1% population of the Iran. Armenians are found regionally in Azerbaijan and in the area of Isfahan, where they had been deported, in the early 17th century by Abbas the Great. Moreover, a considerable number of Armenian speakers immigrated there from the Ottoman Empire in the early part of the 20th century (early and later immigrants mostly settled in the capital and urban centers, but some also in villages). Since the mid-19th century, Armenians had their own schools where Armenian was the only language of instruction and Persian and French were taught as foreign languages. The closure of these schools and their limited reopening have damaged the Armenian language.