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Air Pollution Among Five Leading Causes of Death in Iran

Jubin Katiraie
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Air Pollution Among Five Leading Causes of Death in Iran

Abbas Shahsavani, a faculty member at Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, stated that the number of polluted days and deaths attributed to air pollution has been rising year after year, placing air pollution among the five leading causes of death in the country.

On Tuesday, November 25, Shahsavani told the state-run Tasnim News Agency that the number of “unhealthy for all groups” days has tripled this year.

According to his data, from the start of the year (March 21) through November 23, the number of “unhealthy for sensitive groups” days in Tehran has increased by about 40% compared to the same period last year.

Iran’s Power Plants Burning Mazut Despite Ongoing Air Pollution

The number of “unhealthy for all groups” days in the capital has also tripled compared to 2024.

Reports indicate that on November 25, Tehran’s air quality reached the red zone, hazardous for everyone.

In recent weeks, the capital and other cities across Iran have consistently been in the orange or red zones.

On November 25, the air quality in Karaj, Qazvin, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Urmia, and Zanjan also reached the red and hazardous level for all individuals.

Due to worsening air pollution and a surge in influenza, schools in seventeen provinces were closed or switched to online classes on November 25 and 26.

These provinces include East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Alborz, Tehran, South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Qazvin, Kerman, Lorestan, Markazi, Hamedan, and Yazd.

Air pollution as a major driver of fatal illnesses in Iran

Air pollution does not only cause coughing, wheezing, or eye irritation; it also leads to more severe consequences, including respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis and asthma, increased risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s, and even death.

The Beheshti University faculty member told Tasnim that 45% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 30% of deaths linked to heart disease and cardiac arrest, 28% of deaths caused by strokes, and 20% of diabetes-related deaths in Iran are attributed to air pollution.

Air Pollution in Several Major Iranian Cities May Reach Dangerous Levels

According to Shahsouni, 24% of lung cancer deaths and 23% of deaths caused by lower respiratory infections are also due to air pollution.

Overall, based on data provided by this Health Ministry official, around 54,000 deaths were attributed to air pollution in 2024, making it one of the five leading causes of death in Iran.

Shahsouni said the number of air-pollution-related deaths for 2025 cannot yet be estimated, but since polluted days are more numerous this year, the number of attributed deaths will naturally be higher.

In recent months, varying reports on the number of air pollution victims in Iran during 2024 have been published, sometimes with significant discrepancies.

Alireza Raisi, the deputy health minister of Iran’s regime, announced in early November that around 59,000 people had died due to air pollution, although earlier, in August, Shahsouni had put the figure at “more than 35,000.”

Iran’s Regime Is Clearing One of Its Nuclear Facilities, Study Shows

Sia Rajabi
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Iran’s Regime Is Clearing One of Its Nuclear Facilities, Study Shows

Five months after the end of the twelve-day war, the Institute for Science and International Security announced—based on satellite imagery—that Iran’s regime is carrying out a cleanup operation at the new headquarters of the Defense Ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), which is responsible for weaponizing Iran’s nuclear program.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran-U.S. Representative Office (NCRI-US) held a press conference on January 31, unveiling new intelligence that Tehran is actively advancing its nuclear warhead development program.

Tehran Advances Nuclear Weapons Program with Covert Russian Assistance

The intelligence outlines how the Iranian regime is focusing on the development of nuclear warheads for solid-fuel missiles at the Shahrud missile site. This effort is spearheaded by the Organization for Advanced Defense Research (SPND), which oversees Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

The Washington-based institute wrote in its latest report on uranium-enrichment facilities in Iran—which were attacked during the twelve-day war—that SPND moved to a new building in 2013 but continued its key operations at the Lavizan-2 complex.

Source: Institute for Science and International Security
Source: Institute for Science and International Security

The new headquarters was located one and a half kilometers from the previous Lavizan-2 site, on Fakhrizadeh Street in Tehran.

According to the institute, the International Atomic Energy Agency never inspected this building, and it appears to have been targeted multiple times in airstrikes.

On June 20, the Israeli military announced that in its overnight strikes on Iran, it had targeted, among other sites, the central SPND building in Tehran.

This institution was established by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh to research and develop advanced technologies and weaponry for the Iranian regime’s military capabilities. Fakhrizadeh, a key figure in the regime’s nuclear program, was killed in 2020.

During the twelve-day war, seven B-2 bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in the United States as part of “Operation Midnight Hammer” and struck the regime’s nuclear sites.

Since then, Donald Trump has described the operation as successful and stated that these facilities were destroyed.

Nevertheless, after the attack, Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran’s regime, defended the policy of domestic enrichment inside Iran.

The SPND building became unusable

The institute emphasized that the new SPND headquarters never collapsed but was likely severely damaged internally and ultimately rendered unusable.

Based on satellite images from the company Ventour, the institute wrote that between August 19 and October 23 Iran has been demolishing the building; its roof and upper floors have been removed, and large piles of debris surround the structure.

According to the report, it is unclear how long full demolition will take, but it is evident that officials of the Iranian regime are salvaging remaining equipment from the building, including three cooling units that no longer appear in the latest images.

The clearing of the main SPND building follows an August 27 report by the institute stating that Iran’s regime was also wiping away traces of nuclear activity at the Lavizan site.

Destruction of one copy of Iran’s nuclear archive

The institute reported that the bombing destroyed one copy of Iran’s nuclear archive—a collection of key documents related to nuclear activities that included details on past weapons-development work and likely contained additional, more recent and critical data on the development, testing, and production of nuclear weapons.

The institute raised the key question of whether other copies of this archive exist.

The institute also wrote in its new report that the main nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan have been largely destroyed, and no significant activity has been observed at them since the war.

The institute emphasized that unlike the enrichment sites that were attacked, several locations connected to “nuclear weaponization”—such as the main SPND building—show extensive signs of cleanup efforts.

Furthermore, the fate and status of enriched-uranium stockpiles—particularly the 60% enriched stock—remain unknown, and Iran’s regime has refused to grant the IAEA access for verification.

Rebuilding the destroyed capability is difficult

The institute wrote that without access to the sites and without up-to-date information from Iran, the IAEA has been forced to rely on satellite imagery—although such images reveal only part of the reality.

X’s New Feature Reveals Iranian Regime Officials Enjoy Privileged Internet Access

Jubin Katiraie
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X’s New Feature Reveals Iranian Regime Officials Enjoy Privileged Internet Access

A new feature introduced by platform X that displays the location used to create and log into user accounts has triggered widespread reactions. Officials of Iran’s regime continue to insist on internet censorship, even though they themselves enjoy unrestricted access.

X has recently introduced a feature that reveals the IP address used to create an account, as well as the country and method currently being used to access it.

In Iran, however, the X platform—like many other social networks—has long been blocked by the regime, forcing users to rely on VPNs to access it.

For this reason, the new feature on X does not display Iran as the access location for most domestic users, since they connect through VPNs and foreign servers.

What has triggered widespread public outrage in Iran is that the feature still shows Iran as the access location for a number of regime officials, political figures, and state-aligned media personalities.

Critics say this shows they are using unrestricted access—known as “tiered internet” and “white SIM cards”—which are exempt from censorship.

Public outrage over privileged internet access for regime-affiliated users

For example, the data show that Amirhossein Sabeti, a member of the regime’s parliament and a staunch supporter of compulsory hijab and filtering, uses an American smartphone and unrestricted “white” internet access.

Observers say these “white SIM cards” are issued by the Intelligence Ministry and the IRGC Intelligence Organization to regime-affiliated figures, enabling them to operate online without censorship in support of Iran’s regime.

It has also become apparent that many accounts claiming to be regime opponents based abroad are actually being operated from inside Iran.

The UK Defence Journal, citing the new account-location data from platform X, reported that several prominent pro-Scottish-independence accounts—claiming to be Scottish activists—are actually run from inside Iran.

The UK Defence Journal wrote that some of these accounts briefly expressed support for Iran’s regime during the twelve-day war between Iran’s regime and Israel.

However, when Iran’s regime shut down the internet nationwide during the war, activity on these accounts stopped at the exact same time.

Poverty Has Removed Meat Consumption from Tables in Iran

Hoshang Amiri
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Poverty Has Removed Meat Consumption from Tables in Iran

An analysis of global data shows that the people of Iran, due to the Iranian regime’s bankrupt economic policies, rank at the bottom of global meat-consumption levels.

Analytical reports based on data from international organizations show that per-capita meat consumption in Iran has fallen to one of the lowest levels globally. While many countries have stable access to adequate animal protein, people in Iran—under economic pressure and the regime’s destructive policies—have been forced to remove meat from their diets.

Red Meat Consumption In Iran Has Fallen Below 600,000 Tons Per Year

Statistical Comparison of Meat Consumption in Iran and Other Countries

According to statistics published by the United Nations, people in Tonga consume an average of 148 kilograms of meat annually, with Mongolia ranking second at 132 kilograms. Meat consumption in the United States and Hong Kong stands at about 123 kilograms.

People in Iran, at about 32 kilograms per year in 2022, are at the bottom of the global meat-consumption table, and new reports indicate an even steeper decline.

Meat Disappearing from the Diet of People in Iran

Domestic and field data show that actual meat consumption in Iran has dropped to about 29 kilograms per year, and some reports indicate it has fallen to as low as seven kilograms. The situation for red meat is even worse: runaway inflation and collapsing purchasing power have reduced red-meat consumption to less than one kilogram per year. For many workers and low-income families, meat has effectively disappeared from the diet. This collapse in consumption is a clear indicator of how Ali Khamenei’s regime has destroyed the economy, prioritizing repression and security expenses over people’s livelihood.

The Role of the Iranian Regime’s Destructive Policies

The economic policies of Iran’s regime—from inflation above 40% to structural mismanagement—are the primary drivers of collapsing meat consumption. Constant price increases and the absence of social support have deprived people of access to animal protein. In countries with healthy economies, from the United States to Turkey, meat is naturally part of the standard diet, but the Iranian regime, through incompetence and widespread corruption, has pushed people into chronic food insecurity.

Regional Comparison and Social Consequences

A comparison of meat consumption between Iran and neighboring countries provides a clear picture: Turkey consumes nearly twice as much meat as Iran. This gap is not merely the result of cultural differences; it is the outcome of economic destruction within Iran.

Indonesia To Auction Seized Iranian Oil Tanker Carrying 1.2 Million Barrels of Crude Oil

Mehdi Hosseini
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Indonesia To Auction Seized Iranian Oil Tanker Carrying 1.2 Million Barrels of Crude Oil

The Indonesian prosecutor’s office announced that starting December 2, it will launch an auction to sell an Iranian oil tanker and its massive crude oil cargo. The case began after the ship’s captain was convicted of “marine pollution and illegal oil transfer.”

The Jakarta Globe, citing the Indonesian prosecutor’s office, reported that the tanker MT Arman 114, flying the Iranian flag, will be auctioned along with 166,975 tons of light crude oil (equivalent to 1.2 million barrels).

IRGC Seizes Oil Tanker in Persian Gulf Waters

The starting value of the auction has been set at about USD 70 million, and bidders must pay USD 7 million as a participation deposit.

The Marine Pollution Case and the Confiscation Order

The spokesperson for the Indonesian prosecutor’s office announced on Sunday, November 23, that the auction includes both the vessel and its oil cargo.

The Arman 114 tanker, built in South Korea in 1997, was seized under an order issued by the Batam district court and transferred to state ownership.

In July 2023, the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency announced that the vessel had tampered with its automatic identification system (AIS) to show its position as being in the Red Sea while it was actually in the North Natuna Sea.

According to this state agency, the Egyptian captain, twenty-eight crew members, and three passengers on the tanker were arrested at the time.

The seizure followed the captain’s conviction for illegally discharging waste into the sea.

He has been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined USD 300,000.

Violation: Radar Off and Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfer

The investigation began when a patrol from the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency identified two tankers that had turned off their AIS systems and were docked side by side.

Drone images showed the two vessels connected by a pipeline.

The images also confirmed an oil leak from the Arman 114 into the sea.

According to the Indonesian prosecutor’s office, the illegal ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfer took place between the Iranian tanker and the Cameroon-flagged tanker MT S Tinos.

This is not the first time Indonesia has seized tankers carrying Iranian oil for maritime violations, but the simultaneous auction of both the vessel and its large cargo makes this case one of Jakarta’s most significant actions against Iranian tankers in recent years.

Iran’s ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ Campaign Expands to 55 Prisons on 96th Week

Sia Rajabi
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Iran’s ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ Campaign Expands to 55 Prisons on 96th Week

According to reports, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign continued today, November 25, 2025, and with the participation of Birjand Central Prison, the number of prisons joining the hunger-strike campaign reached fifty-five. The participating prisons, in their statement, voiced support for the protests of families of death-row prisoners and called on all people to support them.

Text of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” Campaign Statement

With Birjand Central Prison joining, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign expanded to fifty-five prisons in its ninety-sixth week.

Iran: 304 Executions in One Month, 1,735 In 2025 So Far

The 96th week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign arrives at a time when the repressive apparatus in Iran has escalated executions at an unprecedented pace in order to preserve itself. The expanding scope of executions, the absence of fair trials, and the systematic use of executions as a tool for intimidation constitute a blatant violation of fundamental human rights and a clear example of crimes against humanity.

This week, Birjand Central Prison joined the 54 other prisons sending the message of “No to Executions” from behind prison walls.

This week, the passage of the seventy-second United Nations resolution condemning human-rights violations in Iran recognized two decisive legal truths:

1: recognition of the 1988 massacre and concern over its recurrence

2: condemnation of the unprecedented pace of executions and the regime’s use of executions as an instrument of intimidation and repression

Nevertheless, the regime continues its executions and killings. The death sentence issued for Mohammad-Mehdi Soleimani—one of those arrested during the 2022 uprising—is not an exception but part of a consistent pattern of eliminating protesters through a politically driven and invalid judicial process. Between October 23 and November 21 alone, there were 311 executions, a number unprecedented since the 1988 massacre. Additionally, 59 people have been executed since last week, and 1,479 people have been executed since March 21.

The families of prisoners sentenced to death, despite threats, summons, arrests, and security pressures, continue to stand in the streets week after week to defend the lives of their loved ones. This protest requires widespread support from the public and the international community.

On Tuesday, November 25, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign entered its 96th week, with prisoners in fifty-five prisons across the country participating in a hunger strike.

Iran: 304 Executions in One Month, 1,735 In 2025 So Far

Jubin Katiraie
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Iran: 304 Executions in One Month, 1,735 In 2025 So Far

Executions by Iran’s regime have reached an unprecedented level. According to reports, at least 304 prisoners were executed in various prisons across the country between October 23 and November 21 (the Persian month of Aban); a figure that is assessed to be the highest monthly number of executions in the past thirty-seven years. Observers say this sudden and relentless surge in executions is the regime’s response to growing concerns about the formation of social protests and a popular uprising.

According to officially reported figures, 36 prisoners were executed over four days from Monday, November 17 to Thursday, November 20; in other words, during that period roughly one execution was carried out every ninety minutes. The executions continued on November 22 as well, and at least eight more prisoners were hanged in the prisons of Kermanshah, Karaj, Khorramabad, Borujerd, Hamedan, and Sari.

Life Of Political Prisoner Ehsan Faridi Is in Danger

A look at monthly execution statistics in Iran

According to data from the Iran Human Rights Society (an Iran-focused human rights organization), executions have been rising at an unprecedented rate since March 21, 2025 (Farvardin 1 in the Iranian calendar).

Thus, the total number of executions from March 21, 2025 to the present has exceeded 1,470. At the same time, the tally for the calendar year is also notable: the website Sedaye Bazdasht Shodegan Iran (Voices of the Arrested in Iran), an activist monitoring site, has reported that approximately 1,735 executions have been recorded in the country so far in 2025.

The reports by this organization are based on field documentation and information obtained from inside prisons, courts, and prisoners’ families. The data also indicate that a significant portion of the executions were carried out in provinces such as Khorasan, Azerbaijan, Semnan, Yazd, Hamedan, and Zanjan, and that many of the victims were put to death shortly after sentencing, without public notification and without full access to the ability to defend themselves.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) issued a statement warning about the wave of executions and stressed that the accelerating implementation of death sentences is not a sign of strength but a clear reflection of the regime’s fear of the recurrence of widespread popular protests.

The council emphasized that “Silence, inaction, and dealing and negotiating with the godfather of execution and terrorism in the 21st century violate the universal principles of human rights, which were achieved at the cost of millions of victims. This regime must be ostracized from the international community, and its ringleaders must be brought to justice for nearly five decades of crimes against humanity and genocide.”

The increase in executions in Iran continues despite repeated warnings from international bodies, UN special rapporteurs, and dozens of human rights organizations about widespread violations of prisoners’ rights, lack of fair trials, and the use of execution as a tool of political repression. Nevertheless, the new information indicates that Iran’s regime has turned the enforcement of death sentences into a more central component of its domestic security policy than before.

Life Of Political Prisoner Ehsan Faridi Is in Danger

Esmaeil Mohades
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Life Of Political Prisoner Ehsan Faridi Is in Danger

A group of political prisoners involved in the “Tuesdays No to Execution” campaign in Ghezel Hesar Prison warned in a letter that the life of Ehsan Faridi, a twenty-two-year-old student and political prisoner sentenced to death, is in serious danger.

The letter states that Faridi is “yet another victim of the regime’s brutality, which has intensified after the twelve-day war.”

The signatories of the letter described Faridi’s arrest process as “illegal,” his trial as “unfair,” and his appeal hearing as entirely “formalistic,” warning that his life is in grave danger.

These prisoners described the confirmation of Faridi’s death sentence as “an alarm bell” for all human rights activists and urged them, given the situation, to organize “serious and widespread activity” to “save the life of this innocent human being” and other death-row prisoners.

Iran’s Regime Continue Execution Spree With 13 Hangings in Four Days

Mahmoud Behzadi-Rad, Faridi’s lawyer, said on October 22 that he submitted a request for retrial on October 14, it was sent to the branch on October 15, and was rejected at 12:50 p.m.

The attorney added: “They probably did not even read my eight-page retrial request. I suspect they are dismissing many cases without attention at the end of the month to raise statistics so that benefits will be given to the staff of that branch.”

In the rest of their letter, the prisoners of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign emphasized the need to bring the voices of death-row prisoners to public attention: “We must all be the voice of the voiceless, and we must not stop our efforts until this cruel death sentence is abolished and all innocent convicts are saved.”

In conclusion, these prisoners called on all freedom-seekers not to remain indifferent to the confirmation of Faridi’s death sentence and to bring his story of innocence to the world.

Faridi was first arrested in March 2024 by the Intelligence Organization of Iran’s police force and was released on bail some time later. In June 2024, when he went to Branch 15 of the Tabriz Prosecutor’s Office for questioning, he was arrested again and transferred to prison.

This political prisoner was sentenced to death in February 2025 by Ali Sheikhlou, head of Branch Three of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court. The sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court at least three times.

On November 12, Faridi’s family announced in an Instagram video that they had met their son behind the bars of the prison visit area.

Parvin Hayati, the mother of this political prisoner, wrote in the caption of the video: “As a mother, I have a question. Is the place of Ehsan and others like him behind prison bars? And for what crime such a sentence?”

Alireza Faridi, his father, also said in an interview: “The prosecutor who drafted the indictment, Seyed Ali Mousavi-Aghdam, was later dismissed for forming a corruption ring. How can my son be sentenced to ‘corruption on earth’ based on an indictment issued by someone removed for corruption? My son does not deserve such a sentence.”

At present, in addition to prisoners convicted of non-political crimes who are hanged daily in Iran’s prisons, about 70 prisoners across the country with political charges are at risk of confirmation or implementation of their death sentences.

More than 100 others with similar charges are facing the risk of receiving death sentences.

Tehran Advances Nuclear Weapons Program with Covert Russian Assistance

Sia Rajabi
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Tehran Advances Nuclear Weapons Program with Covert Russian Assistance

The news outlet Ynet, citing intelligence reports, wrote that Iran’s regime is secretly advancing its nuclear weapons program with direct and covert assistance from the Russian government.

According to this report, published on Sunday, November 23, a delegation affiliated with the Ministry of Defense of Iran’s regime visited a Russian military technology company that is on the U.S. sanctions list.

Western Powers Submit Resolution to Clarify IAEA Reporting on Iran’s Nuclear Program

Ynet added that the purpose of the cooperation between Tehran and Moscow is “to complete the final stage” of the regime’s plan to “design a nuclear weapon.”

According to Ynet, Iran’s regime is using laser technology and modeling—with covert Russian help—to validate nuclear weapon design without testing, making international monitoring more difficult.

In recent months, reports have emerged about Russia’s role in advancing the nuclear program of Iran’s regime.

The state-run Financial Times reported on November 19 that individuals involved in Iran’s nuclear program traveled to Russia secretly for the second time last year—an action that, according to the United States, was an attempt to obtain sensitive technologies that could be used in producing nuclear weapons.

According to the report, regime operatives met during the trip with representatives of the Russian company Laser Systems.

This Russian company, which works in technologies with civilian uses as well as classified military projects, has been sanctioned by Washington.

Ynet further wrote that cooperation between Iran’s regime and Russia could shorten the time needed for Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons.

Earlier in August, the Financial Times had reported on a trip by an Iranian delegation to Russia and visits to scientific institutions there.

Iran’s Regime Builds Structure Resembling Nuclear Explosives Chamber

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated in recent months that following U.S. strikes on the Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan sites during the twelve-day war, the nuclear program of Iran’s regime has been destroyed.

Nevertheless, speculation continues about the fate of the regime’s nuclear program, especially its stockpiles of enriched uranium.

The recent reports from Ynet and the state-run Financial Times together depict ongoing nuclear cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.

This phase relies on laser technologies, modeling, and dual-use components that, according to these sources, can be used in nuclear weapons research and could shorten the regime’s path toward completing nuclear weapon design.

Iran’s regime has never stopped pursuing its nuclear project, and if it were not for 133 revelations by the National Council of Resistance of Iran over the past thirty-four years—especially the exposure of the secret nuclear facilities in Natanz and Arak in August 2002—the religious dictatorship ruling Iran would already be armed with a nuclear bomb.

On July 14, 2015, after the nuclear agreement between Iran’s regime and global powers, Maryam Rajavi, the elected President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said: “Had the P5+1 been more decisive, the Iranian regime would have had no choice but to fully retreat from and permanently abandon its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Specifically, it would have been compelled to halt all uranium enrichment and completely shut down its bomb-making projects.… The P5+1 should now insist on evicting the regime from the Middle East and prevent its regional meddling. This is a fundamental principle that needs to be included in any agreement.”

Tehran, Mashhad, And Kerman in Emergency Status as Iran’s Water Crisis Deepens

Esmaeil Mohades
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Tehran, Mashhad, And Kerman in Emergency Status as Iran’s Water Crisis Deepens

The water crisis in Iran has reached a stage where several provinces, including Tehran, Mashhad, and Kerman, are facing emergency conditions and, in some cases, “de facto rationing.” In the capital, the deputy head of Tehran’s Regional Water Company says the province’s dams have reached their “strategic volume.”

Rama Habibi, deputy head of Tehran’s Regional Water Company, announced on Saturday, November 22, that the reservoirs of the capital’s dams have reached a level where further extraction could endanger the safety of the dams and the supply network.

U.S. State Dept: Iran’s Water Crisis Is Result of Decades of Regime Mismanagement

He said: “I cannot say that Tehran’s dams have reached their dead volume, but they are almost at a level below which it is considered strategic volume, and this volume must remain in the dam.”

According to Habibi, none of the capital’s dams have yet been taken offline, but some have reached levels where even technically extracting water from them is no longer possible.

“Strategic volume” refers to the portion of a reservoir’s stored water that is reserved for crisis management during severe droughts or floods and is not permitted for daily consumption.

According to official statistics, Tehran is now experiencing its sixth consecutive year of drought.

The water level of the Latian Dam has reached its lowest point in sixty years, and the Karaj Dam is at less than 10% of its capacity. As a result, 70% of Tehran’s water now comes from groundwater sources—sources already heavily strained, with many aquifers on the verge of land subsidence.

Water pressure management in Tehran

Isa Bozorgzadeh, spokesperson for Iran’s water industry, announced that “water pressure management” remains one of the main tools of the Ministry of Energy to delay the water crisis in the capital, and reduced water pressure continues across various districts of Tehran.

Bozorgzadeh said that pressure reduction is applied from midnight until the early morning hours, when consumption is lower, and continues with less intensity during the day.

He warned that if citizens do not respond to the Ministry of Energy’s request to reduce consumption by 10%, pressure management may extend beyond the current time window into other hours of the day.

Sharp decline in rainfall; twenty provinces without precipitation

Mohammad Javanbakht, head of Iran’s Water Resources Management Company, announced that in the past fifty days only 3.5 millimeters of rainfall have been recorded nationwide, an amount equal to just 18% of the normal average.

According to him, twenty provinces have received no rainfall at all, and the last water year was Iran’s fifth consecutive dry year.

Javanbakht said: “Last year, Tehran and Bandar Abbas experienced the driest period in their operational history.”

A 40% decrease in precipitation has left the country’s dams with the lowest water levels in more than a decade.

Mashhad: start of rationing and depletion of dam reserves

Nasrollah Pejmanfar, head of Article 90 Commission in Iran’s regime parliament, announced on November 21 that in Mashhad “the Doosti Dam no longer has water to transfer, and the water of Mashhad’s dams has reached zero.”

He confirmed that the metropolis is now under rationing.

Pejmanfar attributed the water shortage to “mismanagement and the absence of watershed and aquifer management,” stating that the country’s drainage basins have a capacity of about 400 billion cubic meters, but much of this water leaves the country due to lack of planning.

Kerman: collapse of qanats and “gradual death” in one of the driest provinces

Field reports from Kerman Province depict a picture of gradual collapse of life in the region.

Qanats are drying up, groundwater has turned bitter and salty, orchards and farmlands have been destroyed, and a large portion of wildlife faces extinction.

In many areas, water flows only through worn-out pumps, while excessive consumption in household and agricultural sectors continues.

Experts say that continued flood irrigation, crop patterns mismatched with the climate, and excessive extraction from aquifers have pushed the situation to the level of an “ecosystem death.”

Drought, mismanagement, or a combination of both?

Although many officials attribute the crisis primarily to drought, water resource experts believe mismanagement, unregulated urban expansion, excessive development pressure, and a lack of consumption management planning play the key roles.

Excessive extraction from thousands of wells around Tehran, massive water loss in the distribution network, expansion of construction colonies, widespread issuance of permits for new settlements, and the minimal use of modern technologies in consumption management all contribute to the worsening crisis.

Water experts stress that continuing the current trend could make water supply impossible for 30% to 50% of Tehran’s population within five to ten years.

Some have also warned that if effective rainfall does not occur in the coming winter, the country may enter a broader phase of rationing and even “localized evacuation” of certain areas.

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