The article examines internal migration in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which have not been studied in the domestic scientific literature before, and which have undergone significant changes over the past 50 years under the influence of economic, social, cultural, demographic and other factors. These changes have led to undesirable transformations in the settlement structure and disrupted demographic balance of the country. The persistence of existing trends threatens to increase the imbalance in the territorial distribution of the population and economic activity with severe socio-economic consequences. Iranian experts propose a number of strategies to resolve the crisis, but the possibilities of their implementation seem to be problematic. The relevance of the article is due to the need to monitor the internal situation in Iran, which is one of the leading players in the Middle East and at the same time a promising strategic partner of Russia.