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Iranian capital relocation refers to a 2025 proposal issued byMasoud Pezeshkian to the Iranian government that began discussing changing the capital city fromTehran toMakran andChabahar.[1][2] This decision, aimed at addressing Tehran’s overpopulation,water scarcity, power shortages, and other ecological pressures, was officially declared by government spokeswomanFatemeh Mohajerani on January 8, 2025. The government has formed two councils to examine the feasibility of the move and develop a sea-based economy in the Makran region.
It is expected to cost between $77 and $100 billion US Dollars to complete.[3][4]
In April 2025, theDeputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development announced the start of studies on 27 zones identified for the possible creation of coastal settlements in southern Iran, saying, "It is not yet clear how many new cities will be created in these 27 zones, and the consultants must announce what population these zones can accommodate."[5][verification needed]
Since 1796, Tehran has been serving as the capital of Iran, under theQajar dynasty that designated it as the center of political authority.[6] They moved the capital fromMashhad that served as a political capital, as theSafavids had pickedIsfahan to be their capital in 1598.[7]
The idea of moving the capital has been discussed periodically since theIslamic Revolution in 1979 but was previously abandoned due to economic constraints and logistical challenges.
The official authorities seriously considered the project after the2003 Bam earthquake, which killed tens of thousands of people.[8] Seismologists cited in 2009 warned that Tehran sits on at least 100 fault lines—including one nearly 60 mi (97 km) long—and that many buildings would not survive a major earthquake.[8]
The current administration under PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian is revisiting the proposal, citing strategic and economic benefits for the move. However, critics have raised concerns about the enormous financial and logistical demands associated with such a relocation.
The move is intended to shift the country’s economic and political center closer to the sea, enhancing Iran’s trade capabilities and reducing the burden on Tehran.[9]
Makran is a largely undeveloped region, whose name meanspalm tree.[10][11]
By 2009, Tehran's infrastructure had been strained by rapid population growth, with the metropolitan area estimated at about 12 million residents, up from about 250,000 at the start of the 20th century.[8]
In November 2009 Supreme LeaderKhamenei proposed moving the capital from Tehran.In 2017, theExpediency Discernment Council approved changing the capital.[8][12][13][14][15][16][17]
In summer 2024, Pezeshkian proposed to move the capital to resolve various issues. He made a trip to southern cities in January 2025.[18]
In July 2025, Pezeshkian warned that unless water consumption was curbed, reservoirs supplying Tehran could run dry by September or October.[19] In October 2025, he said Iran had "no choice" but to relocate the capital, citing Tehran's over-expansion, inadequate water supplies and land subsidence, and linking the proposal to directing development toward the country's southern coastline and maritime access.[2] In November 2025, he said the government would have to begin rationing water in Tehran if rainfall did not arrive by December, and warned that residents might have to evacuate the city if rationing proved insufficient and supplies ran out.[20]
The 2013 parliamentary proposal to explore relocating the capital did not name any candidate sites and instead left the selection to a study council, which was envisaged to spend two years evaluating alternatives. Subsequent discussion has included both purpose-built capitals and existing cities, and no relocation site has been finalised.[21]
In January 2025, officials said the government was studying relocation to the southernMakran coast, including areas around the port city ofChabahar on theGulf of Oman.[22] The area has been described as a largely undeveloped coastal region spanning parts ofSistan and Baluchestan province andHormozgan province.[23] Concerns have also been raised that water scarcity and climate change could limit large-scale development in Makran.[23]
In 2009, Bahram Akasheh, a seismologist and dean of the faculty of basic sciences atTehran Azad University, suggested building a purpose-built capital in the area betweenQom andDelijan (inMarkazi province), describing it as a region that had not experienced an earthquake for 2,000 years.[8]
Other locations that have been mentioned at various times as potential alternatives to Tehran includeShiraz,Isfahan,Hamadan,Semnan,Pardis (near Tehran),Bandar Abbas on thePersian Gulf, andKashan.[24][25]
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