At Least 20 Protests and Conflicts Over Water in the First Five Months of This Year

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, stated that there have been "at least 20 protests and conflicts related to water issues" in Iran during the first five months of this year. According to Fars News Agency, he made this remark on Tuesday, August 6, during a meeting with activists from non-governmental organizations. However, this part of Rahmani Fazli's speech has not been published on the Ministry of Interior's website. According to the Ministry of Interior's website, he criticized the lack of active participation from civil society organizations in protecting national resources and specifically in the optimal consumption of water and energy, stating that "no popular movement has been formed by organizations for the management of water consumption and other natural resources." Previously, farmers in the Varzaneh region in eastern Isfahan had protested against water shortages and the lack of water rights allocation in March of last year and in the early weeks of this year. The scope of these protests even reached the Friday prayers in Isfahan, where a number of farmers turned their backs to the Imam's podium on February 14 last year, chanting: "Back to the enemy – towards the homeland." Following that, protests regarding water shortages were held in Borazjan, the center of Dashtestan County in Bushehr Province, Kazeroon in Fars Province, Yasouj in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, and the city of Saman in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province. In recent years, water and environmental experts, as well as officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have repeatedly warned about the problem of water scarcity. Earlier, Isa Kalantari, the head of the Environmental Protection Organization, stated that over 70% of Iran's population is at risk of water scarcity, and the per capita water availability this year has surpassed critical conditions. In this context, according to IRNA news agency, Ahmad Pouyafer, the governor of Bandar Abbas, stated on Tuesday: "Due to consecutive droughts, the water resources of Hormozgan Province have depleted, and the Independence Dam in Minab, which is the main source of water supply for the people of Bandar Abbas, has reached dead volume, and the Shamil and Niyan dams have also reached their lowest levels." Previously, the Minister of Interior, in an interview with the newspaper Sazandegi on August 1, emphasized that the conditions for turning the water crisis into a "major social crisis" are present, warning that in five years, climate migration will change the face of Iran. He did not provide details but mentioned that based on the statistics he has, "extensive migrations" to central and northern Iran from areas affected by drought are "taking shape." According to Rahmani Fazli, if this trend continues, in five years, the "face" of Iran will change "in every respect," and the country will face a "great catastrophe" in the next ten years. The Minister of Interior did not provide further details about these statistics.