Iranian President Calls to Move Capital to Persian Gulf Coast Closer to Major Trade Routes

 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that the country’s political and economic center should be moved south, to the coast of the Persian Gulf closer to major trade routes.

“As the capital of the country, Tehran is facing problems for which we have no solution other than to move the capital center itself,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by Iran’s Fars news agency.

Keeping the city of Tehran located in the north of the country as the capital is becoming impossible due to a number of considerations, primarily economic, the Iranian president said.

“It is impossible to develop the country by continuing the current trend. If we want to continue bringing resources to Tehran from the south and the sea, turning them into products and sending them back to the south for export, it will be reducing our competitiveness more and more,” he added.

After the new capital center is chosen, all government agencies will be relocated there, after which Tehran residents will be given the opportunity to move to the new capital as well, Pezeshkian said.