Regions of Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been divided into regions in a number of different ways historically. It has been divided into five administrative regions since 2014. Current administrative regions Iran's thirty-one provinces were grouped into five regions on 22 June 2014, based on a decision by the Ministry of Interior. In this change, the adjacency, geographical location and similarities of the provinces were considered. The Constitution of Iran does not provide for regions and they are not the constituent units of the country but exist purely for the convenience of governmental administration. According to Javad Naserian, the Ministry of Interior's Management Development and Human Resources Vice-Minister, the purpose of this grouping of provinces was the creation of synergy, transfer of experience, information exchange, and regional development. Also, it now provides an intermediate level where provinces can discuss their problems among themselves, instead of going immediately to Tehran. The intention was for each region to have regularly scheduled meetings of the constituent provinces' governors-general, rotating the meeting place through the provincial capitals. The host prov