Tehran (/tɛəˈræn, –ˈrɑːn, ˌteɪə-/; Persian: تهران Tehrān [tehˈɾɒːn] (listen)) is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With a population of around 8.7 million in the city and 15 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia,^[6] and has the second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East, after Cairo. It is ranked 24th in the world by metropolitan area population.