Tehran

Tehran (/tɛəˈræn, -ˈrɑːn, ˌteɪ-/; Persian: تهران Tehrân [tehˈɾɒːn] ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of Iran and also the largest city in Tehran Province. It also serves as the capital of the province, county and the Central District.[6] With a population of around 9 million and 400 thousand in the city and around 16 million and 800 thousand in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, The Greater Tehran metropolitan area contains towns like the "New Town of Andisheh", "Islam Shahr", "Shahreh Qods", "Shahryar", "Pakdasht", "Firooz Kooh" and "Shamiran". Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia,[7] and has the second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East, after Cairo. It is ranked 24th in the world by metropolitan area population. In the classical antiquity, part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages (now Ray), a prominent Median city[8] destroyed in the medieval Arab, Turkic, and Mongol invasions. Modern Ray was absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran.