Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday said that the country's capital city must be moved from Tehran due to the water shortage, Iran International reported.
Speaking in Qazvin, Pezeshkian explained, "When we said we must move the capital, we did not even have enough budget. If we had, maybe it would have been done. The reality is that we no longer have a choice; it is an obligation."
He stressed that land in some areas of Tehran is sinking by up to 30 centimeters annually, and water supplies are tanking. "This means disaster," he stressed, adding that mismanagement, construction, and the reduction of downstream water flow create a risk of irreversible damage.
Warning of a "dark future" if the government does not act, he stressed, "Protecting the environment is not a joke. Ignoring it means signing our own destruction."
According to Iran International, Iran is seeking to move its capital to Makran, on the southern coast, overlooking the Gulf of Oman. Though the location offers access to the Indian Ocean and potential for sea-based projects, critics warn that the region is underdeveloped and not yet ready to host a national capital. Such a move would also be expensive - one of the main reasons such a move has not been carried out until now.