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
Human capital flight from Iran to a capital loss of $50 billion. In addition, the political crackdown following the 2009 election protests is said to have created a "spreading refugee exodus" of elite Iranians. It has also been reported that CIA is running a covert operation codenamed "Braindrain Project" with the aim of luring away Iran's nuclear talent, thus undermining Iran's nuclear program. Between 1991 and 1999, job creation in Iran could provide for "less than 60 percent of those entering the job market", according to a 2003 United Nations Common Country Assessment of Iran's development. The CIA estimates that 77% of 51 million of