Iranian authorities are appealing to their citizens to cut back on water, fuel, and electricity usage as the nation grapples with the ongoing effects of US sanctions and the impact of regional conflicts.
State-run media in Iran have been persistently encouraging the populace to reduce water consumption in anticipation of the harsh summer dry season, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Behnam Bakhshi, a spokesperson for Tehran Province’s state water and wastewater company, recently stated, “All executive bodies, organizations, and public institutions—be they governmental or non-governmental—are mandated to install water-saving devices and regulate water use.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran has also recognized the resource challenges, noting that the nation struggles to export oil, collect taxes, and address the difficulties confronting businesses.
In light of attacks from the US and Israel that have severely impacted Tehran’s fuel infrastructure, the Iranian oil minister has appealed to citizens to conserve fuel during the ongoing conflict.
On Thursday, the US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement to extend the cease-fire that began on April 8. If ratified, this agreement would lift the US blockade on Iranian ports, allowing “unrestricted” shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as announced by the White House.
It would also begin a 60-day period for the US and Iran to begin negotiating on Tehran’s nuclear issues.
But the water crisis, in particular, has been a daunting challenge regardless of war, as the country has suffered through a historic drought for six years — the result of half a century of foolish modern engineering projects, according to experts.
As Iran’s population swelled in the second half of the 20th century, the Islamic Republic regime built dams on rivers too small to sustain them, drying up wetlands and underground water reserves.
The crisis is now so acute it directly threatens the country’s agricultural sector and food supply.
Despite a reported 72% increase in water inflow to Iran’s dams, uneven rainfall patterns and poor resource management continue to undermine the country’s water security.
Repeated electricity outages affecting agricultural wells could reduce crop production in Iran by 25 to 30%, warned Peyman Alami, head of Iran’s Agricultural Guild Chamber, as reported by Iran News Update.
“The government blames the current crisis on changing climate [but] the dramatic water security issues of Iran are rooted in decades of disintegrated planning and managerial myopia,” the Keven Madani, Iranian director of the UN’s Institute of Water, Environment and Health, told the Yale School of the Environment.
In November, Pezeshkian warned that he might have to move the country’s capital out of Tehran’s desert region to a wetter coastal area, effectively abandoning a city of 10 million people at a potential cost of $100 billion.
