Rainfall levels have drastically declined compared to the same season last year, and Iran is facing a severe drought and water shortage in the coming year. A quick look at reports published in domestic media reveals the scale of the looming disaster. In Tehran Province, rainfall has dropped by 25% compared to last year, and the reservoirs supplying the city hold only 6% of their capacity. These figures indicate that not only will water for household use become scarce, but agriculture and industry will also face severe shortages.
This crisis is not limited to reservoirs or Tehran alone. Across many regions of Iran, groundwater levels have plummeted, and the country’s plains are at risk of land subsidence. It is evident that water scarcity affects all aspects of life, making survival increasingly difficult, particularly for workers and laborers in urban and rural areas. The low level of technology in Iranian agriculture prevents efficient water use. For example, in the Netherlands, producing one kilogram of tomatoes requires an average of 4 liters of water, whereas in Iran, the same amount requires 40 liters.
As a result of the water shortage, agricultural production declines, leading to rising food prices. This affects farmers’ incomes and increases rural unemployment, triggering migration to cities. However, urban centers are not equipped to accommodate this influx, resulting in the expansion of slums. Additionally, many industries rely heavily on water. As water supplies dwindle, production costs rise, and some industrial units may be forced to shut down. Consequently, job opportunities for migrants in cities will diminish, causing unemployment rates to surge.
A water expert warns:
“If the current trend continues, in the near future, vast areas of Iranian farmland will become unusable, increasing the country’s dependence on food imports. Therefore, Iran’s water crisis is a life-threatening challenge endangering the future of agriculture and food security. The depletion of water resources, coupled with mismanagement, has pushed Iranian agriculture to the brink of a major crisis.”
Experts predict that Iran will experience one of its worst periods of water scarcity in the summer of 2025. Regime officials attribute the water shortage to two main reasons: reduced rainfall and excessive agricultural water consumption. While both factors are true, they only tell part of the story. The most significant cause deep-rooted corruption within the regime’s institutions is conveniently ignored.
One major issue is the over-extraction of groundwater, which has not been replenished even by occasional rainfall. Government statistics show that there are nearly one million wells in Iran, 758,000 of which have been drilled during the Islamic Republic’s rule. Among these, over 200,000 wells lack permits, many of them used for luxury villas and private gardens owned by wealthy elites.
The flawed policy of agricultural self-sufficiency, poor planning, reckless projects, industrial mafias, military profiteering by the IRGC, and systemic corruption have all contributed to the devastation of Iran’s natural water sources. These mismanaged policies have disrupted the ecological balance. Some striking examples include:
Placing major water-intensive industries in arid regions: Instead of constructing the largest industrial plants in the water-rich southern coastal areas, they were built in Iran’s central plateau and deserts, sustained by water diverted from the Karun River.
The Gatvand Dam disaster: Built at enormous cost, this dam dissolved millions of cubic meters of salt from surrounding mountains into its reservoir, turning thousands of hectares of fertile farmland into barren wasteland.
Water wastage in urban infrastructure: Official sources admit that 30% of the water in Iran’s urban pipeline networks is lost due to leakage, yet no efforts are made to repair or upgrade the system.
As long as Iran’s capitalist-Islamic regime remains in power, holding people’s livelihoods, housing, freedom, and environment hostage, there is no prospect for solving these systemic problems. The corrupt administrative structure nurtured by the regime is incapable of addressing natural disasters such as drought or implementing structural solutions for water shortages.
For the Islamic Republic, suppressing justice and freedom movements has always taken precedence over addressing the people’s needs. The regime only takes action when it perceives a serious threat from public dissent.
Iran sits atop a wealth of natural resources. If political power were in the hands of its rightful owners the workers and councils formed through the people’s free will then, with the country’s immense wealth and its boundless human creativity, these crises that plague the majority of the population could undoubtedly be resolved.
