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
Provinces of Iran Provinces of Iran Iran is subdivided into thirty-one provinces ( "Ostān", plural "Ostānhā"), each governed from a local center, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital (Persian: , "markaz") of that province. The provincial authority is headed by a Governor-General (Persian: "Ostāndār"), who is appointed by the Minister of the Interior subject to approval of the cabinet. Iran has held its modern territory since the Treaty of Paris in 1857. From 1906 until 1950, Iran was divided into twelve provinces: Ardalan, Azerbaijan, Baluchestan, Fars, Gilan, Araq-e Ajam, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kerman, Larestan, Lorestan, and Mazandaran. In 1950, Iran