This study aims to provide a climatological view of cold spots and a spatiotemporal analysis of minimum land surface temperature (LST) in Iran. We used daily Aqua/MODIS LST product in 1-km resolution (MYD11A1 version 6.1) for 19 years (2003–2021). The findings indicate that Iran’s coldest spots are located in a narrow corridor in the middle part of the Alborz Mountains called the “Iran’s Cold Pole (ICP).” From May to November, a tri-modal distribution of absolute minimum LST (AMLST) exists at ICP. Mount Damavand and Varkash, with − 14.30 °C and − 49.18 °C, set the country’s lowest long-term minimum LST (LTMLST) and AMLST records. The results indicate that the geographical distribution of Iran’s cold spots (ICS) follows the high mountains with an altitude of more than 3500 m throughout the year. However, the AMLSTs are mainly concentrated in northwestern Iran and do not necessarily follow the high mountains. The results reveal that while cold spots are concentrated in the ICP in summer, they are geographically dispersed in winter, with the most dispersion in December. According to the results, the most prolonged cold period and the lowest LSTs occur every year from 38° N to 39° N in Iran. The trend shows that almost all the years after 2012 experienced a positive anomaly in the nighttime LST. Examining the interannual variations of the monthly AMLSTs indicates that very low LSTs and high negative anomalies have decreased during the cold period in recent years.

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