The Endless Story of Iran's Capital Relocation; When a New Name Emerges Each Time

The proposal to relocate the capital from Tehran is an old and recurring idea in Iran's political landscape, which has recently been brought up more prominently by senior government officials. This idea, which usually comes up occasionally and is then forgotten, has gained seriousness due to the intensification of environmental crises in Tehran in recent years. Over the past decades, as Tehran has grown larger, the signs of 'inefficiency' and 'weak urban management' have become more evident. The government has also stoked the flames of the capital's disarray by concentrating investment and development in Tehran while neglecting other parts of the country. Now, the only solution is seen as erasing the problem by relocating the capital to another location. Various cities have been proposed for the capital's relocation, but this time government officials have surprisingly focused on the 'Makran' region as one of the main options for the new capital of Iran. Last week, Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the capital of Iran should be moved 'to a city by the sea.' Mohammad Reza Aref, the first vice president, also emphasized that 'the government will not hesitate to relocate the capital,' mentioning Makran as one of the 'serious' options. Meanwhile, Fatemeh Mohajerani, the government spokesperson, also stated in her weekly press conference that the new capital is 'definitely' one of the cities in southern Iran, and the capacities of the Makran region are being examined. The history of the capital relocation plan has been discussed in all governments after the revolution in Iran. The Islamic Republic, after facing damages such as environmental issues, energy supply, and population saturation in Tehran, emphasizes the necessity of implementing this decision, but each time it has been postponed for various reasons, including high costs. This idea was first proposed a few years after the revolution during the government of Mir Hossein Mousavi but was unproductive due to internal conflicts and the eight-year war. Later, during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's presidency, attempts were made to relocate the capital, but the final approval was canceled due to the opposition of the Tehran municipality. During Mohammad Khatami's government, the policy of relocating the capital was replaced by 'improving infrastructure and urban management in Tehran,' but the next government under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once again put this plan on the agenda. In 2011, Ahmadinejad's government proposed relocating the capital from Tehran to one of the central provinces of Iran under a plan called 'Relocation of the Political-Administrative Center of the Country,' but this plan also remained at the study and research level. The government's efforts to relocate the capital continued to the point that the Islamic Consultative Assembly approved the issue of relocating Tehran's political and administrative capital in 2013, but this faced opposition from Hassan Rouhani's government. During this period, the new city of 'Parand,' located near Tehran, was proposed as the new capital. Finally, on May 26, 2015, the plan for 'Feasibility Study for the Relocation of the Political and Administrative Center of the Country' was approved by the Assembly and confirmed by the Guardian Council. According to this law, the government was obliged to investigate this issue within a maximum of two years. Since Hassan Rouhani, the then-president, was not in favor of this relocation, this resolution was not seriously pursued. This law was also studied during the short government of Ebrahim Raisi and has now become the basis for Masoud Pezeshkian's government's decision to change the capital. Why Makran? The Pezeshkian government has declared the most important reason for choosing the Makran region as 'sea-oriented development.' After years of study, this is the first time the name of the Makran region has been proposed as a serious option for relocating the capital. Makran, or in local dialect, Makran, refers to areas in the southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan that cover about a thousand kilometers of coastline. This region, which also includes the port of Chabahar, is considered a 'strategic' area in Iran due to its proximity to the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean and its oil and gas resources. The port of Chabahar is the only port in Iran that has access to the ocean. Makran was initially intended to become the hub of 'international transport and transit' in Iran and the Middle East, not the capital. Although the Islamic Republic has conducted extensive propaganda about the development of the Chabahar port in recent years, especially after the JCPOA, the name of this region had not previously been mentioned as a potential capital option. Hassan Rouhani, the former president of Iran, claimed that with new investments in Makran, Chabahar, and southern Baluchestan, a 'great transformation' would occur. The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development also announced that with the installation of a new dock at this port, its capacity would increase from 2.5 million tons per year to 8.5 million tons. At that time, some critics argued that the government's massive investment in this region would be futile without establishing trade relations with other countries and lifting sanctions. Islamic Republic officials introduce the Chabahar port as the main competitor of the 'Gwadar port of Pakistan.' After the JCPOA, to compete with China's $50 billion investment in Gwadar port, Iran entered negotiations with India regarding the development and investment in this region to avoid losing its share of the 'North-South' transit route. Accordingly, in 2016, India committed to a $500 million investment as the developer of the 'Shahid Beheshti Chabahar Port.' Although it was planned to construct five phases with a total capacity of 80 million tons at this port, only the first phase with a capacity of eight million tons was inaugurated in 2017. Even this capacity has remained unused due to sanctions and reduced foreign trade. After India, the names of China and Japan also came up, but so far this project has not made satisfactory progress due to delays and breaches of promise by Indian and Chinese contractors and has remained 'without result.' Criticism of the plan to relocate the capital to Makran; a large part of it 'lacks piped water.' Challenges of relocating the capital The first challenge for the government in relocating the capital to the Makran region is 'financial limitations.' Developing facilities and creating a new metropolis in an area that has so far been deprived of any amenities requires massive investment. Currently, a significant portion of the government budget is spent on employee salaries and the country's current expenses, and in a sanctions situation, financing from abroad is practically impossible. Ahmad Vahidi, the Minister of Interior of the thirteenth government, announced in May 2024 that the cost of relocating the capital is '100 billion dollars' and stated: 'With this exorbitant cost, immediate decision-making is not feasible.' Although the Makran region has many economic and tourism advantages, many critics consider the mention of this region as the political and administrative capital a 'strategic error.' They do not see this area as a suitable choice due to its being one of the farthest points in Iran from all metropolises and industrial and agricultural areas. Some have even described the choice of Makran as the capital as 'security suicide,' believing that in the event of military conflict, this area is 'the closest point for foreign forces to seize via the sea.' The urban infrastructure and administrative, educational, medical, and transportation facilities in Makran are also insufficient for the current residents of this region, and relocating the capital there would require significant investment. Ensuring security in this area will also pose challenges for the government due to historical problems and its proximity to the sea. Environmental activists have recently warned about the potential destruction of the environmental features of this region if the capital is relocated. Additionally, 'cultural changes in the local community of Makran' would undergo fundamental changes if the capital is moved. Choosing Makran; a decision by the government or the leader of the Islamic Republic? Over the past forty years, cities like Semnan, Arak, and Parand have been mentioned as potential new capital options, all located in central Iran. In this context, the choice of an area in southeastern Iran was 'surprising' for expert circles and media in Iran. Therefore, some in Iran consider the reasons for this unexpected decision to go beyond expert discussions and scientific feasibility studies. Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has placed special emphasis on the development of Makran in recent years. Although none of his promises and recommendations regarding the advancement of this region have been implemented, government officials traditionally align all their slogans and propaganda with the directives of the leader of the Islamic Republic. Accordingly, some critics evaluate the choice of Makran as a serious option for the new capital as an attempt by the government to align with the policies of the Islamic Republic's leadership; a path that may have a 'hidden motive' for the government beyond all the officially stated reasons for this decision. The leader of the Islamic Republic has paid special attention to Makran for years. In paragraph 21 of the general policies of the sixth development plan, he has mandated the development of the marine economy in the south of the country, focusing on 'Makran coasts.' Khamenei declared the development of the Makran coasts as one of the 'fundamental tasks' of the government and stated that government programs in this region should be pursued more rapidly. He also mentioned in February 2010: 'We have not taken sufficient advantage of the long coasts of the Sea of Oman, and our minds have always been focused on the Persian Gulf.' Tehran has 'reached its population ceiling 12 years ahead of schedule.' What do critics say? In recent days, most experts have opposed the implementation of this plan and deemed it a mistake. Among them, Mohammad Tabibian, an economic expert, described the capital relocation plan as 'delusion' and 'an admission of long-term failure in managing and planning a city,' writing: 'These illusions are impractical; it seems these friends are unaware of the historical reasons for choosing this location, namely Tehran, which was initially an unnamed village.' Pyruz Hanachi, the former mayor of Tehran, also emphasized that the idea of relocating the capital is going 'off the track,' stating that changing the capital will not alleviate the pressure on Tehran. The newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad also quoted urban expert Hossein Imani Jajarmi as saying: 'The capital is not just a few buildings, administrative centers, and government employees that can be easily relocated. The capital embodies a political and historical concept and defines the nation; it is symbolic.' Why is Tehran unpopular as a capital? Tehran is a megacity of 9 million people that accounts for over thirty percent of Iran's gross domestic product. In addition to economic capacities, most of Iran's recreational, sports, and artistic facilities are concentrated in Tehran. Despite this, in recent years, phenomena such as land subsidence, earthquake risk due to population density and building safety, traffic, air pollution, and energy and water supply in Tehran have confronted urban management with multiple crises. Helyasadat Hosseini, the then-head of Tehran's Environmental Protection Agency in 2022, declared Tehran the world record holder for land subsidence, evaluating this phenomenon as a 'silent earthquake or cancer of the earth.' Mohammad Aghamiri, the head of the Tehran City Council's Civil Committee, predicted in August 2023 that the human toll from a potential earthquake in Tehran could be between three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand people, stating that this incident could turn into a 'global catastrophe.' Plans to divide Tehran province In recent years, other plans have been proposed as solutions for decentralization from Tehran, but they have received less attention from the government. Previously, even the plan to 'divide Tehran province' into several smaller provinces had been proposed, but 'relocating the capital' has been a more attractive option for governments. Some experts consider 'equipping Tehran's infrastructure' a more suitable option than changing the capital and suggest that the government should decentralize while improving conditions in Tehran by developing facilities in other cities.