Chabahar ( (); ) is a city in the Central District of

Chabahar County Chabahar County () is in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. Its capital is the port city of Chabahar on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. History After the 2011 National Census, Talang Rural District (Qasr- ...

, Sistan and Baluchestan province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is a

free port A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...

(

free-trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...

) situated on the coast of the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...

, and is Iran's southernmost city after Konarak. The sister port city of

Gwadar Gwadar (, ) is a Port, port city on the southwestern coast of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman and has a populati ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, is located about to the east of Chabahar.

Etymology

The name Chabahar is a shortened form of the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

phrase (), where means "four" and means "spring". Hence, Chabahar means a place where all four seasons of the year resemble spring time.

History

There is a fishing village and former port named Tis in Chabahar's neighborhood, which dates from 2500 BC, known in

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

's conquests as Tiz, eventually renamed Tis. In addition, in his book '' Aqd al-Ala lel-Moghefe al Ahla'', Afdhal al-Din abu Hamid Kermani wrote in 584 AH (1188 CE) about the port of Tiz and its commerce and trade. According to the scholar and historian,

Alberuni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

, author of an encyclopedic work on India called "Tarikh Al-Hind", the sea coast of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

commences with Tiz or modern Chabahar. Tis was formerly an active commercial port, and was destroyed by the

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

s. There are still some ruins in the village. The Portuguese were the first colonial country to attack the

Makran Makran (), also mentioned in some sources as ''Mecran'' and ''Mokrān'', is the southern coastal region of Balochistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in the Balochistan province in Pakistan and in Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. I ...

(Oman) Sea. The Portuguese forces under

Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and ''conquistador''. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across ...

gained control of Chabahar and Tis, staying there until 1031 AH (1621 CE). The British, and later the Portuguese in the 17th century (1616 CE or 1026 AH), entered this region. Modern Chabahar dates back to around 1970 CE, when it was declared a municipality and large port projects were started by order of

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

. A modern naval and air base was established as part of the Shah's policy of making Iran into a dominant power in the Indian Ocean. At that time these and other development projects in and around Chabahar involved the extensive participation of foreign companies, especially from the United States. After the 1979 CE revolution the foreign companies left the projects and Iranian public companies linked to the Ministry of Jahad-e Sazandegi (or jihad for construction) took them over. The

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

caused Chabahar to gain in logistical and strategic importance. War brought insecurity to the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' , ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategica ...

and ships were unable to enter the Persian Gulf. Accordingly, Chabahar became a major port during the war. In the 1980s the Iranian government developed a new scheme named the Eastern Axis Development Scheme, which aimed to use Chabahar's geographical position as a regional development tool to stimulate economic growth in the eastern provinces. The establishment of the

Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone Chabahar Free Trade–Industrial Zone (CFZ) () is an Iranian free trade zone formed according to the law on the establishment and administration of free trade–industrial zones . Chabahar free trade–industrial zone was established in 1992 ...

in 1992 resulting from the EAD Scheme brought development and encouraged immigration from other parts of the country to Chabahar. On 25 February 2025, clashes between the

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...

and

Jaish al-Adl Jaysh al-Adl () is a Baloch Sunni jihadist militant organization that operates mainly in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran, where there is a porous border with Pakistan. The group has claimed responsibility for several ...

, a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

militant group have taken place in Chabahar. At least one civilian, a 5-year-old child, has died. Two more Jaish al-Adl combatants have also died. Days earlier, Jaish al-Adl bombed an Iranian government building.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 71,070 in 13,837 households. The following census in 2011 counted 85,633 people in 19,313 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 106,739 people in 25,896 households.

Economy

Chabahar Free Trade Zone

Chabahar is Iran's closest and best access point to the Indian Ocean. For this reason, Chabahar is the focal point of Iranian development of the east of the country through expansion and enhancement of transit routes among countries situated in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and Central Asia. The hope is that with the development of transit routes, and better security and transit services, the benefits will reach the local residents. Chabahar's economic sectors are fish industries and commercial sector, fishery sectors with the largest amount of country's fish catch, mainly located out of the

. Growing commercial sector located at free trade area with high potentiality to turn to a place that would connect business growth centers in south Asia (India) and Middle East (Dubai) to central Asian market. The government plans to link the Chabahar free trade area to Iran's main rail network, which is connected to Central Asia. The city is served by Refah Chain Stores Co.,

Iran Hyper Star Iran Hyper Star is an Iranian subsidiary of French multinational retailer Carrefour in Iran. History Iran HyperStar was founded by the collaboration of Majid Al Futtaim and Carrefour. Branches Iran Hyperstar currently has 40 branches in T ...

Isfahan City Center Isfahan City Center is a large commercial and entertainment complex in Isfahan, Iran. As of October 2023, it is the second largest shopping mall after Iran Mall in Iran, and the fourth largest in the world. History The mall was developed by M ...

, Shahrvand Chain Stores Inc., Ofoq Kourosh chain store.

Transportation

Chabahar is connected to

multimodal transport Multimodal transport (also known as combined transport) is the transportation of goods under a single contract, but performed with at least two different modes of transport; the carrier is liable (in a legal sense) for the entire carriage, even t ...

ation through air, sea and roads. Its Konarak Airport has twice daily flights to the capital

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, thrice weekly flights to

Zahedan Zahedan (Balochi language, Balochi and ; ) is a city in the Central District (Zahedan County), Central District of Zahedan County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, th ...

and twice weekly flights to

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

and

Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas (, ) is a city in the Central District of Bandar Abbas County, Hormozgan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Bandar Abbas is a port on the southern coast of the country, on the Persian ...

. It has also a weekly international flight to

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

and

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

and a biweekly flight to

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

. Chabahar has two jetties that connect it to international waterways. Iranian contractors are developing both jetties to provide port facilities for handling of 6 million tons of goods a year; this is expected to be completed by 2011. Chabahar is connected to national road networks. Chabahar–

, Chabahar– Iranshahr–

Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...

, Chabahar–Iranshahr–Zahedan–Mashahd and Chabahar–Iranshahr–Zahedan–

Milak Milak is a city and a municipal board in Rampur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.In field of legal education there is one Law college at village Guladia Bhatt Milak–Bilaspur road in name of Rampur College of Law Milak imparting l ...

are four main routes connecting Chabahar to national and international roads. In July 2016, India began shipping US$150 million worth of rail tracks to Chabahar to build US$1.6 billion Chabahar–Zahedan railway by India's

Ircon International Ircon International, or Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON), is an Indian engineering & construction corporation, specialized in transport infrastructure. The public sector undertaking was established in 1976, by the India ...

, for which India pledged additional US$400 million and Iran has also allocated US$125 million in December 2016, thus taking the total allocation to US$575 million (out of US$1.6 billion needed) till the end of 2016.

Port

is helping develop the Chabahar Port, which will give it access to the oil and gas resources in Iran and the Central Asian states. By doing so, India hopes to compete with the Chinese, who are building

Gwadar Port The Gwadar Port ( ) is situated on the Arabian Sea at Gwadar in Balochistan province of Pakistan and is under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan and operational control of the China Overseas Port Holding Compan ...

on the other side of the border in Pakistan's

Balochistan Province Balochistan (; ; , ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khybe ...

. In 2014, Indian government sanctioned an initial amount US$85 million for the development of Chabahar port. By 2016, as

sanctions against Iran There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, follo ...

were being lifted after the nuclear deal, Indian investment plans had risen to US$500 million. In turn, Iran will get its first

deepwater port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

, to allow it to conduct global trade with big cargo ships rather than the small ships its ports can currently handle, thus putting an end to its reliance on the United Arab Emirates as a shipping intermediary. On top of that, Chabahar shall be used for transshipment to Central Asia, while keeping the port of

as a major hub mainly for trade with Russia and Europe. India and Iran have entered into an agreement to provide preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar for Indian goods destined for Central Asia. Interest in Chabahar port's project renewed once US-sponsored economic isolation of Iran was relieved, and benefits from the resurgent Indian economy. Along with Bandar Abbas, Chabahar is the Iranian entrepot on the north–south corridor. A strategic partnership between India, Iran and Russia is intended to establish a multi-modal transport link connecting Mumbai with St. Petersburg, providing Europe and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia access to Asia and vice versa. India and Iran are discussing building a gas pipeline between the two countries along the bed of the Arabian Sea to bypass Pakistan, using the Chabahar port. Both the countries are pondering the delivery of natural gas produced in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

with Indian assistance to north Iran while the Islamic Republic will send natural gas from its southern deposits to Indian consumers. This pipeline is conceived by India to replace the proposed

Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline The Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline, also known as the Peace Pipeline, or IP Gas, is an under-construction pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to Pakistan. Although construction of the pipeline began in 2011, the Pakistani government did no ...

, the negotiations for which have dragged on due to the worsening of relations between India and Pakistan.

Geography

Location

The city is on the

Coast of the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and is officially designated as a "Free Trade and Industrial Zone" by the

Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling State (polity), state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its Const ...

. Due to its free-trade zone status, the city has increased in significance in international trade.

Climate

The county of Chabahar has hot, humid weather in the summer and warm weather in the winter, giving it a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh''). The western winds in the winter bring about scattered rainfalls in this region, and very occasionally winds from the Indian monsoon affect the region, as in July 1976 when fell. In most years around will fall; however a positive

Indian Ocean Dipole The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), is an irregular oscillation of sea surface temperatures in which the western Indian Ocean becomes alternately warmer (positive phase) and then colder (negative phase) than the eastern part of the ocean. Phenomen ...

in 1997/1998 led to a record total of ; in contrast between July 2000 and June 2002 only fell in ''two'' years. The summer monsoon winds from the Indian subcontinent make Chabahar the coolest southern port in the summer and the warmest port of Iran in the winter. It has an average maximum temperature of 34 °C and an average minimum temperature of 21.5 °C. It has the same latitude as

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in Florida, United States, and temperatures are very similar to those in Miami.

Tourism

A $500 million resort is planned to be built in Chabahar.

Gallery

File:000401-IMG E7394-2.jpg, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:000401-IMG E7382-2.jpg, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:000320-IMG 0095.jpg, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:000320-IMG 0092-FerdowsHotel.jpg, Ferdows Hotel, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:000320-IMG 0088-CFZ.jpg, The statue of Chabahar Free Zone,

File:000113-Beris-Pan1-2.jpg, Beris port, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:Porota making 20210602.jpg File:000208-BeachWithArya-IMG E3625-2.jpg File:Chabahar, Iran 2021.jpg, Elevated cliff beaches in suburbs of Chabahar Free Zone,

File:Lipar Pink Wetland, Chabahar, Iran.jpg, The Lipar Pink Wetland, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:991102-Pozm-IMG E2962.jpg, Pozm Beach, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:991119-Phytoplankton-IMG 6606.jpg, Planktons, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:Luminescent beaches in Chabahar3.jpg, Planktons, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6071-2.jpg, Comb beach, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6057-2.jpg, Comb beach, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6050-2.jpg, Sany beaches of Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6039-2.jpg, Elevated cliff beaches of Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6020-2.jpg, Marine

Chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( ), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...

, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6034-2.jpg, Jelly fishes, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6019-2.jpg, Marine

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( ), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...

s, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6013-2.jpg, Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 6006-2.jpg, Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 5988-2.jpg, Darya Koochak, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:990804-Chabahar-IMG 5997-2.jpg, Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone,

File:Chabahar-Post-Office.jpg File:Post-Office.jpg

Notes

References

External links

* http://www.iranchamber.com/people/articles/cultural_anthropology_of_baluchis.php * https://web.archive.org/web/20141215001158/http://www.freezones.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=263 {{Chabahar County, state=collapsed Cities in Sistan and Baluchestan province Economy of Iran Gulf of Oman Populated places in Chabahar County Port cities and towns in Iran