Hassan Rowhani, a top cleric who heads the Supreme National Security Council, said the body would Saturday "seriously study the problem of moving the capital."

"The capital must be moved," he told the television, adding the proposal had been floating around since 1991 but had since failed to gain any momentum or the full cooperation of all government bodies.

Government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh later confirmed the government had been studying the idea since 1989, but said no firm conclusion had ever been reached.

He said the cabinet had yet to raise the issue but vowed that authorities would be "more vigilant" regarding construction regulations.

On December 26, Iran's southeastern city of Bam was flattened by a quake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale. At least 30,000 people were killed, with around 80 percent of the city destroyed.

Tehran, which sprawls over 1,600 square kilometers (640 square miles) and is home to some 12 million people, straddles three major fault lines.

Experts say a major earthquake can be expected here every 150 years. The last one occurred around 1830, when Tehran was merely a village.

Under normal circumstances, Tehran's plethora of narrow streets are some of the most clogged in the world. Traffic jams can leave people stranded for hours, and experts fear that if a massive quake hits, it would be almost impossible for emergency teams to reach the victims.

TERRA.WIRE