As summer approaches, Iran is gripped by a severe water shortage, jeopardizing the lives of millions of Iranians.
On May 11, regime president Masoud Pezeshkian, a sycophant of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, visited the regime’s Ministry of Agriculture, itself a component of the water mafia. Pezeshkian acknowledged the severe water crisis with phrases such as “reduction in water resources” and “we have many problems in the field of water.”
This is happening while, already in May 2025, before summer has even begun, widespread water cuts in Tehran and many other cities have disrupted daily life. In Hamedan, even official regime authorities report that water pressure is so low that it doesn’t reach the upper floors of buildings. State-affiliated media, in an unavoidable admission, have sounded the alarm bells: “The water crisis in the summer is serious, all cities will face a water crisis” (Fararu news site), “The summer of 2025 will turn into hell” (Tasnim news agency), “A grim forecast for Iran’s situation in the summer.” These headlines are merely the tip of the iceberg of a catastrophe that the regime has brought upon Iran through mismanagement and organized plunder.
The water crisis in Iran is no longer just a warning; it is a tangible reality that has paralyzed people’s daily lives. According to an expert quoted by the state-run Eghtesad Online, “In the year 2025, more than 50% of the country’s dams will have less than 40% of their capacity.” Alef, another state-affiliated website, writes, “Water consumption in Tehran has reached 1.2 billion cubic meters, while underground resources are depleting.” These statistics paint a horrifying picture of the near future: widespread water cuts, agricultural shutdowns, and forced migration for many Iranians.
The regime, however, shamelessly attributes this disaster to natural causes. The claim of “drought” has been ridiculed even among regime officials and state-affiliated media. The reality is that the root of the crisis lies in the water mafia, which, under the direct guidance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the supervision of Khamenei himself, has plundered the country’s water resources. The Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, the IRGC’s economic arm, has dried up rivers and depleted underground aquifers through the reckless construction of dams and the digging of deep wells for astronomical profits. The issue is so scandalous that during his May 11 visit to the Ministry of Agriculture, Pezeshkian, without naming the IRGC’s water mafia, admitted to the “continuation of digging and deepening existing wells” for years and added: “We are severely destroying and ruining our environment.”
State-affiliated media also admit to a fraction of this governmental crime. For instance, the Farhikhtegan newspaper writes: “Inefficient management and unscientific projects, such as unregulated dam construction, are the main cause of the decrease in dam water levels.”
The water mafia, by dominating water resources, has even destroyed traditional agriculture. The digging of unauthorized wells by regime affiliates and the diversion of water to water-intensive industries controlled by the IRGC, such as steel production, have dealt a fatal blow to farmers’ livelihoods and the country’s food security. This organized plunder, rooted in the regime’s institutionalized corruption, has brought Iran to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.
The Iranian people, however, know that this crisis is not a product of nature but a direct result of a regime that has plundered the country’s wealth and resources for four decades. When Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his IRGC turn water resources into a tool for profiteering, how can one expect Iran to escape this horrifying abyss?
The only way to escape this catastrophe is to end the rule of the plundering regime that has devastated Iran. The Iranian people, with their resolute determination for change, can consign this mafia regime to the dustbin of history and create a future of justice and prosperity for their land. The water crisis, like hundreds of other unresolved crises in Iran, is an alarm bell that cries out: The time for that great change has come.