Iran: Water Wars on the Horizon in Iran

May 27, 2021 | Asia Times
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When facing down public dissent and unrest, Iranian authorities are known to downplay the magnitude of the various crises they confront. But officials are uncharacteristically sounding the alarm about a mounting water crisis, one which could trigger a full-blown conflict over access to the essential resource. According to Minister of Energy Reza Ardakanian, the coming summer in the Iranian calendar year will be the ''driest in the recent five decades.'' The minister said he was concerned about peaking demand for drinking water and cast doubt on the government's ability to ensure an uninterrupted supply of water nationally.