West Asia has been recognized as a major centre for the diversification of Xanthomonas citri pv. citri, a citrus quarantine pathogen of considerable economic importance. However, little genotyping data is available mainly due to the paucity of microbial resources in this region. Using a comprehensive strain collection, several genotyping techniques and a pathogenicity assay, the status of strains causing Asiatic citrus canker in Iran, an internationally significant citrus-producing country, was clarified. All strains were genetically related to X. citri pv. citri pathotype A* (i.e. strains with a host range restricted to Mexican lime and related species) but not to pathotype A (i.e. strains with a wide host range among rutaceous species). The findings were based on discriminant analysis of the principal components of MLVA-31 data and were further confirmed by pathogenicity data. Two genetically, geographically and pathologically separate groups of strains in Iran were identified. One of the groups had never been previously reported anywhere in the world. A very strong genetic structure was found (RST = 0·938), consistent with their geographical isolation. Strains from these two groups also differed in terms of their type III effector repertoire. The atypical host range of one of these groups could explain why some Iranian strains had previously been mistakenly identified as pathotype A. This study suggests the absence of invasive pathotype A strains in Iran (known as DAPC 1), which account for most of the economically important outbreaks internationally.