Hooded Crow is not just a colour phase - according to the IOC list(which HKBWS committee use as the basis for the HK list) it's a separate species Corvus cornix, and birds in Iran would be of the sspp sharpii or capellanus.
Interestingly they also indicate our orientalis Carrion Crow of East Asia as a potential split, so another armchair tick could be in the offing.