Iran seventh largest shopping mall, Isfahan City Center. The fourth most populous city of Iran, Karaj, has a population of around 1.9 million (2016 census). It is the capital of the province of Alborz, and is situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of the Alborz mountain range. It is a major industrial city in Iran, with large factories producing sugar, textiles, wire, and alcohol. With a population of around 1.7 million (2016 census), Tabriz is the fifth most populous city of Iran, and had been the second most populous until the late 1960s. It was the first capital
Counties of Iran Counties of Iran The counties of Iran, called shahrestan ( ), are administrative divisions of larger provinces ("ostan"). The word "shahrestan" comes from the Persian words ' ("city, town") and ' ("province, state"). "County", therefore, is a near equivalent to "shahrestan". Iranian counties are divided into one or more (), or districts. A typical county includes both cities ( ) and rural agglomerations ( ), which are groupings of adjacent villages. One city within the county serves as the capital of that county. Each county is governed by an office known as "farmandari", which coordinates different public events and agencies