A group of Babolsar residents gathered early on Sunday, August 10, to protest long power outages in the city. This protest in Babolsar is the latest example of such demonstrations.
Videos and reports circulated on social media show protesters in Babolsar gathering in front of the local electricity office in Mazandaran province. Earlier, residents of Fereydunkenar, a neighboring city to Babolsar, had also held a similar protest.
In addition to Mazandaran, gatherings have also taken place in Gilan province—in Rasht, Khomam, and Khoshkebijar—to protest the power outages.
Protest gatherings in Iran began in late July in Sabzevar, the second-largest city in Razavi Khorasan province, and have since spread to other cities and counties.
Parliament’s stance on protests over water and electricity outages
Following the protests in Babolsar and Fereydunkenar, the state-run IRNA news agency wrote about the frequent electricity cuts in Mazandaran province: “The people of Mazandaran, like other compatriots, have adapted themselves to the scheduled outages announced by the provincial electricity distribution company, enduring two- and even four-hour daily blackouts.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, August 9, Esmaeil Hosseini, spokesperson for the Energy Commission of Iran’s regime parliament, referred to citizens’ protests over water and electricity shortages, saying: “The most important issue the enemy focuses on is dissatisfaction, and one of the ways it seeks to create dissatisfaction is through the energy sector.”
Despite this warning from the Energy Commission member, Vahid Ahmadi, a member of the regime parliament’s National Security Commission, told the state-run Didban Iran website that while various crises such as water shortages or lack of energy may exist, “if proper management is applied, there is not much to worry about.” He added, “Despite the problems with water and electricity, we are still prepared to enter another war.”
Water And Electricity Supply Crisis; Efforts for the Rapid Transfer of Water to Tehran
However, on Sunday, Massoud Pezeshkian, president of Iran’s regime, warned of a 40% decrease in rainfall across the country, saying Iran is facing a “serious and unimaginable” water resources crisis.
In a meeting with managers and media representatives, he emphasized that unplanned development has led to “having no water under our feet and none behind the dams.” Pezeshkian said: “Today we are in a state of compulsion and have no choice; we cannot avoid cutting water supplies.”
Power outage program for embassies
Meanwhile, the state-run Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported on Sunday, August 10, that power had been cut to three embassies in Tehran.
The issue of embassy electricity consumption has been raised by the regime’s official media since last year. In July 2024, reports emerged of high electricity consumption by certain embassies in Tehran.
At that time, Fars reported that the highest electricity consumption among diplomatic premises was linked to a garden house belonging to one of the embassies—a claim later attributed by the state-run Qods newspaper to the British Embassy Garden.
In winter 2024, some media outlets named embassies of countries such as the Netherlands and Italy in Tehran, accusing their diplomatic premises of cryptocurrency mining.
Finally, in June 2025, electricity tariffs for embassies were increased. Embassy electricity consumption in Tehran does not appear to have a significant impact on the country’s total electricity usage. However, whenever public dissatisfaction over frequent power outages rises, the issue of embassy electricity consumption is raised by the regime’s official media.
