Shahrud, Iran

Shahrud (Persian: شاهرود, also Romanized as Shâhrūd, Shahrood, and Shahroud; also known as Shârūd) is a city in the Central District of Shahrud County, Semnan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.

As of 1991, Shahrud had a population of 92,195. At the 2006 census, its population was 126,916 in 35,548 households. The following census in 2011 counted 140,474 people in 40,931 households. The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 150,129 people in 47,606 households.

Situated about an altitude of 1345 m, it is located at latitude 36°25'N, longitude 055°01'E. The main launch site of the Iranian Space Agency is near Shahrood. It is also well known for unique types of grapes which are cultivated specially in Shahrud. Consequently, Shahrood is known as the City of Grapes.

Although absent from earlier historical sources, Shahrud has become an important town since the 19th century because of its location on the road from Tehran east to Khorasan. It now also is on the railway. A road runs from Shahrud across the Alborz mountains to the Caspian coastal plains in the north; it is accessible throughout winter. Shahrud was renamed Imāmrūd after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, but has since reverted to the old name. It is located just south of the historical city of Bastam.