Iran is facing a severe water crisis as a prolonged drought enters its sixth year, pushing cities like Tehran, Mashhad, and Tabriz toward 'water day zero'—the point at which supply systems fail. In Tehran's southern districts, taps ran dry by early December, and nightly pressure cuts have become routine. The capital's five main dams were only 11% full in early November, according to the head of the regional water company.
President Masoud Pezeshkian warned in November that if rain did not come, Tehran—home to 10 million people—might need to be evacuated. The water shortages have fuelled protests, with demonstrators demanding 'Water, electricity, life – our basic right' over the summer, risking government clampdowns. The largest demonstrations in years erupted in late 2024, driven by a combination of water scarcity, austerity, and a currency crisis, with inflation exceeding 40%.
Climate breakdown is a deep cause, with average temperatures in Iranian cities rising twice as fast as the global rate between 1990 and 2022. Mismanagement of water supplies has worsened the crisis. Iran abandoned its ancient qanat aquifer system—70,000 tunnels supplying water for millennia—in favour of dam building. From 1962, 58 dams were constructed, but many were placed on rivers too small to sustain them, leading to evaporation and water loss. After the 1979 revolution, increased groundwater pumping further strained resources.
International factors also play a role. Afghanistan's Taliban regime completed the Pashdan Dam on the Harirud River, giving them control over 80% of the flow into eastern Iran, threatening water supplies to Mashhad. Armed clashes over the Helmand River occurred in summer 2023, with casualties on both sides before a truce. Unlike the Helmand, the Harirud has no formal water-sharing agreement.
