Jask

Jask ( and Balochi: جاشک) is a city in the Central District of Jask County, Hormozgan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.

Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 11,133 in 2,406 households. The following census in 2011 counted 13,810 people in 2,958 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 16,860 people in 4,415 households.

Jask is a port town, about 1050 mi south of Tehran, situated on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as the capital of Jask County, and is the site of a base of the Iranian Navy which opened on October 28, 2008. The base's position provides the Iranian Navy with the capability to close the Strait of Hormuz in order to block the entry of an "enemy" into the Persian Gulf. Admiral Habibollah Sayyari remarked on the base's opening that Iran was "creating a new defense front in the region, thinking of a non-regional enemy."

The port of Jask is also the proposed end of the Neka-Jask pipeline. The city also has the Jask Airport.

Port of Jask
The port of Jask is a small port on the western part of Iran's coast along the Gulf of Oman. However, over the last few years it has seen a steady growth of its export freight flows to Oman, mostly agricultural products, including refrigerated, and construction materials

Major developments for the port of Jask were announced by Iranian authorities in early 2019, i.e. the construction of a new terminal for oil tankers for a total investment of US$700 million, to be followed by the construction of a refinery and of a petrochemical plant. These developments are part of a total investment of US$1.8 billion centered on the construction of a new oil pipeline from Goreh, Bushehr to Jask in order to pump and export oil from Northern Iran.

When these investments are completed in Jask, they will contribute to developing Iran's southern regional economy, as is already the case further east at Chabahar Port, and to facilitating exports through ports which do not require ships to enter the Persian Gulf through the Hormuz Strait.

History
The English people made Jask their primary commercial port in the 17th century, and in 1616 AD, a ship carrying their first shipment sailed from India and arrived at Jask. English businessmen founded the first East India Company trading post in Jask in the year 1619. Jask served as the East India Company's hub for trade and transactions with the Iranian central region up until Bandar Abbas was given responsibility for English trade. The English and Portuguese engaged in a bloody battle that ended with the Portuguese being defeated and driven from Jask in the late 1620s after the Portuguese blocked two East India Company ships from entering the port.

Language
The linguistic composition of the city:

Climate
Jask has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), with very hot summers, warm winters and little precipitation. Due to winds blowing off the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, the city has experienced some of the highest dew points and heat indices in the world. On July 31, 2015, Jask observed a temperature of 102.2 F degrees with a dew point of 91.4 F, leading to a heat index of 69 C. On July 20, 2012, Jask experienced a dew point temperature of 35 C.