Tehran - Capital Relocation

Capital Relocation

Plan to move the capital has been discussed many times in prior years. In 2010, the government of Iran announced that "for security and administrative reasons" the plan to move the capital from Tehran has been finalized. The Majlis named Shahroud, Esfahan and Semnan as three of main candidates to replace Tehran as the capital. There are plans to relocate 163 state firms to the provinces and several universities from Tehran to avoid damages from a potential earthquake. President Ahmadinejad suggested that 5 million residents should migrate out of Tehran. As a starting point, Iranian authorities are relocating all defense-related industries out of the capital.