Pezeshkian Calls for Relocation of Capital to 'Near the Sea' in Southern Iran

Masoud Pezeshkian, referring to the problems of Tehran and the need for competition in production, has called for the relocation of Iran's capital to southern regions 'near the sea.' The President of Iran, during a visit to the Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated that 'bringing primary resources from the south of the country and the sea to the center, turning them into products, and then sending them back to the south for export has severely depleted our competitive capacity.' According to a text published by Iranian media from Pezeshkian's remarks, he emphasized, 'We have no choice but to transfer the economic and political center of the country to the south and near the sea.' He also pointed out the problems of Tehran, stating, 'With the continuation of the policies and actions that have been adopted and implemented so far, they have only intensified, and the fundamental solution is to relocate the political and economic center of the country.' The President of the Fourteenth Government identified 'water scarcity' as one of the fundamental problems of Iran's capital and added, 'Whatever we do for the development of Tehran, we are wasting our time.' The proposal to relocate the capital of Iran has a history. In 2004, Hassan Rouhani, then Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, mentioned the 'risk of earthquakes' and stated that the council was examining 'medium- and long-term plans' for relocating the capital. The necessity of relocating the capital was also raised during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government but did not lead to any action. Ultimately, in January 2014, during the early months of Hassan Rouhani's presidency, the Islamic Consultative Assembly approved the generalities of the plan to relocate Iran's political and administrative capital from Tehran to another location. At that time, Rouhani opposed this decision and emphasized the need for a decision from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding this matter. In a session reviewing this plan in the Assembly, Majid Ansari, who was then the parliamentary assistant to the President, stated that the government opposed this plan, emphasizing that 'one cannot decide about the political and administrative capital of a country without the Supreme Leader's permission.' Nevertheless, in May 2015, the Islamic Consultative Assembly finalized this plan under the title 'Feasibility of Relocating the Political and Administrative Center of the Country and Organizing and Decentralizing from Tehran,' and the Guardian Council did not recognize it as contrary to Sharia or the Constitution. However, the plan for relocating the capital in Iran did not progress. Meanwhile, in 2020, Abolfazl Abutalebi, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, announced that the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had officially sent a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the then-President, to carry out the relocation of Iran's capital from Tehran to another location, should he agree. He cited concerns over 'protests and civil disobedience' in Tehran as the reason for sending this letter. The Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters is a subsidiary of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is 'the largest contractor of government projects in Iran.' On Saturday, Pezeshkian, during his visit to this headquarters and in the presence of IRGC commanders, also claimed that with a 'Basij perspective,' schools could be built in all deprived areas of the country within 'one year.' Pezeshkian stated, 'We need to hold a meeting with the Basij youth to build a series of schools. We can use the capacity of students for drawing maps. I believe that with the help of those areas that need schools, we can easily solve the entire school shortage problem within a year with a Basij perspective.' These remarks come at a time when the Iranian government is facing a massive budget deficit, and Pezeshkian himself had stated earlier in September that the government does not have the necessary funds to provide wheat, medicine, inputs, and pensions, implicitly calling for the removal of gasoline subsidies, which could mean a need for fuel price increases in Iran.