A (, also romanized as ) is a third-level administrative division of Iran. While sometimes translated as "countyâÂÂ, it is more accurately translated as "districtâÂÂ, similar to a township in the United States or a district of England.
In Iran, the provinces (first-level divisions) (çóêçÃÂ, ostÃÂn) consist of several counties (second-level divisions) (ôÃÂñóêçÃÂ, shahrestÃÂn), and the counties consist of one or more districts (third-level divisions) (èîô, bakhsh). A district consists of a combination of cities (ôÃÂñ shahr) and rural districts (ïÃÂóêçÃÂ, dehestÃÂn) (fourth-level divisions). The official governor of a district is called a bakhshdar, the head of the bakhshdari office. Rural districts are a collection of villages and their surrounding lands. One of the cities of the county is named its capital.
The following table indicates the 2006 structure of Khash County, one of the 26 counties that constitute Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Districts may occasionally be separated from the county to become counties of their own. For example, Nukabad District separated on 14 December 2018 to become Taftan County, after which the city of Nukabad was elevated to capital status within the newly created Central District of Taftan.