The United States on Tuesday criticized Iran’s leadership over the ongoing nationwide water crisis, which have affected millions across the country, blaming it on mismanagement, corruption and neglect.
"Days without water in the scorching heat of July. There's no access to water for drinking, bathing, washing or cooling homes," the US State Department said in a post on its Persian X account, referring to the ongoing water crisis in Iran.
"The people of Iran continue to suffer the real consequences of the regime's greed, corruption, and mismanagement of water resources," the State Department said in the post accompanied by an image captioned, "Iranian people deserve better than this."
Officials in Tehran blame drought and public overuse for Iran’s worst water shortage in living memory.
Despite a UN “red warning” 25 years ago, Iran expanded hydropower rather than wastewater treatment. 80% of untreated wastewater is dumped into rivers, deserts and underground wells, contaminating key water sources.
Amid an unprecedented heatwave in Iran, many natural and engineered water reservoirs across the country particularly in Tehran, Alborz and Fars provinces are nearly depleted.
In the capital Tehran, officials have attempted to curb consumption through emergency measures, including repeated water and electricity outages and temporary office closures on certain days.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has built over 60 dams in recent decades. More than half are now empty, with hydropower generation operating at just one-third of its nominal capacity.
