Sistan o Baluchestan (
Persian ????? ?????? ? ????????) is one of the 30
provinces of
Iran. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering
Pakistan and
Afghanistan and its capital is
Zahedan.
The province is the largest in Iran, with an area of 181,785 km² and a population of 2.4 million. The counties of the province are Iran Shahr, Chabahar, Khash, Zabol, Zahedan, Saravan, and Nik Shahr.
The region is also home to Iran's Balochi Sunni minority.
The province comprises two sections, Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south. The combined Sistan & Baluchestan province today accounts for one of the driest regions of Iran with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and an obvious rise in humidity in the coastal regions. The province is subject to seasonal winds from different directions, the most important of which are, the 120-day wind of Sistan known as Levar, the Qousse wind, the seventh (Gav-kosh) wind, the Nambi or south wind, the Hooshak wind, the humid and seasonal winds of the Indian Ocean, the North or (Gurich) wind and the western (Gard) wind.
