Amid growing warnings about water shortages and the Iranian regime’s failure to manage the drought crisis, Abbas Aliabadi, Iran’s Minister of Energy, stated that importing water from neighboring countries is on the agenda and that negotiations have already taken place with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
On Tuesday, July 15, Aliabadi noted that Iran has been suffering from drought for more than five years and said, “Our rainfall is down 31% compared to last year and 44% below the long-term average.”
In response to a question about the water crisis, the Minister of Energy said, “There is no water now. We have to consume slowly to make it last longer.”
He urged people to manage their water use and make the best of limited resources during these difficult conditions.
Aliabadi further emphasized that the drought has left the country’s dams in poor condition, noting that the problem is not limited to Tehran, and provinces such as Khorasan, Tehran, Markazi, Hormozgan, and Sistan and Baluchestan are also facing dire situations.
The Energy Minister warned, “We may lose Mamloo Dam within the next month; the condition of the Latyan and Karaj dams is also far from ideal. Currently, we are facing a 30% to 40% reduction in rainfall and dam reserves.”
He added, “We need different methods to control consumption. Efficient users should be rewarded, and wasteful users should be severely punished because they are creating hardship for the public.”
As Iran’s water crisis intensifies, reports indicate that citizens are receiving exorbitant water bills.
Meanwhile, Mohsen Ardakani, CEO of Tehran’s Water and Wastewater Company, pointed to the critical state of the country’s water resources and called on residents to install water pumps and storage tanks.
According to him, there is a risk of water supply problems in the coming days.
Regarding reduced water pressure, Ardakani said, “Due to limited resources, we are forced to manage consumption, and we will reduce water pressure as much as possible, so that water will only be available on the first and second floors.”
Behzad Parsa, CEO of Tehran Regional Water Company, also said on July 15, “This is the fifth consecutive year of low rainfall in Tehran province. This year’s rainfall is unprecedented over the past 60 years.”
Parsa continued, “Since the beginning of the water year, we have recorded 153 mm of rainfall, which shows a 44% decrease compared to the long-term average and a 33% decrease compared to last year.”
He stated that only 14% of Tehran’s dam reservoirs are currently filled and added, “Our major dams contain 170 million cubic meters less water than last year, and there is a 400 million cubic meter shortfall compared to the long-term average.”
In recent months, warnings have intensified regarding water shortages, depleted dam capacities, and the worsening drought crisis.
In one such case, in March, regime MP Abolfazl Aboutorabi warned of the potential for a “water war” between provinces and stated, “Tehran is facing an extremely acute and dangerous situation, and provinces like Fars, Sistan and Baluchestan, and other semi-eastern regions of the country are also facing similar problems.”
Official statistics show that around 80% of Iran’s groundwater resources have been consumed and dam reserves are in a critical state.
Experts have previously warned that Iran’s millennia-old groundwater reserves have been depleted over the past three decades.
