Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced the start of work on plans to move the country's capital from Tehran to the southern borders of the country, on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

According to the news in the country's media, in his speech during a visit to the headquarters of Khatam al-Anbiya, the president again raised the issue of moving the capital from Tehran, which had been discussed in the past.

In his opinion, it has become impossible to leave Tehran as the capital for a number of reasons, primarily economic: "Tehran is facing problems that cannot be solved. No matter what we do, we're wasting time. Therefore, we have no other choice but to move the economic and political center of the country to the sea to the south."

"Ignoring this issue could expose the country to an environmental crisis and many other problems in the future," Pezeshkian said, adding that First Vice President Mohammad Reza Arif was tasked with overseeing the implementation of plans to relocate the capital.

The plan to move the Iranian capital from Tehran with a population of about 20 million people to another city was adopted on December 25, 2013 by the votes of 110 deputies of the 290-seat parliament. The council formed as part of the plan conducted research on "where the best alternative would be" for the capital.

So far, no steps have been taken on this issue, reports aa.com.tr.