Iran announced: the capital will move from Tehran to a new destination in the south

The Iranian government announced yesterday (Tuesday) that preparations are progressing for the transfer of the capital from Tehran to a new destination in the south of the country. Government spokeswoman Fatma Mohajerani said in a press briefing that coordination and adjustments are being made to examine the transfer of the capital city – and presented the city of Makran in the southeast of the country as one of the leading options to replace Tehran.Various officials and officials in Iran express the importance of moving the capital from Tehran, but on the other hand, the plan receives sharp criticism from many opponents due to the heavy financial implications at a time when the country is facing one of the most serious economic crises. “The new capital will definitely be in the south, in the Makran area,” Mohajerani said. “This issue is currently being worked on.”

Mohajerani emphasized a series of environmental factors that necessitate the transfer of the capital from Tehran. Among other things, she mentioned the permanent lack of water, and said that two special committees had been established to examine the issue. The debate on moving the Iranian capital from Tehran is not new, and has been going on for more than three decades. The capital Tehran suffers from a series of problems and crises, from very high density – to serious problems of dryness and land subsidence, which causes damage and collapse of buildings.

Iranian President Massoud Pazkhian reignited the debate recently, and raised the claim that there is a difficulty in continuing to economically maintain the costs of the capital Tehran. Makhran is a city on the shores of the Gulf of Oman, and is considered a popular tourist destination. It is substantially distant from Tehran and the current central region of Iran, and according to all estimates the cost of moving there will be very high.

Another disadvantage of Makhran’s location is its relative proximity to the Pakistani border – where there is incessant activity of Sunni terrorist organizations that harm the Iranian periphery. In addition, the area is close to areas where domestic protests are often held among minority groups within Iran.

The huge economic cost of moving Iran’s capital is at the forefront of the opponents’ arguments. On the “Iran International” website, a conservative journalist in the country was quoted as writing: “It took 18 months to rebuild the Azadi Stadium at a price of 19 trillion Rials ($23.75 million). How much will it take to relocate the capital? I think more than a hundred years and hundreds of billions of dollars.”