Iran International
Iran has launched this year’s cloud-seeding operations over the Lake Urmia basin as the country faces one of its worst droughts in decades, with authorities simultaneously urging nationwide rain-seeking prayers as reservoirs run dry and water shortages deepen across major cities.
The Energy Ministry’s atmospheric water technologies organization said the first flight of the 2024–25 water year was conducted on Saturday over northwestern Iran, where Lake Urmia – once the Middle East’s largest saltwater lake – has largely dried into a salt plain after years of drought, over-extraction and extreme heat.
Mohammad-Mehdi Javadianzadeh, who heads the state body, said a specialized aircraft equipped for cloud seeding was deployed as a suitable weather system passed over the region.
He said teams plan to conduct operations “on all incoming systems that are technically viable” and are assessing conditions over Tehran and other provinces to determine whether additional flights can be launched in the coming days.
He said the aim is to maintain continuous operational capacity in the northwest, with authorities planning to base a dedicated aircraft in Tabriz to service both East and West Azarbaijan provinces.
The program is expected to run until mid-May using both aircraft and drones. Cloud seeding, Javadianzadeh added, is internationally recognized as a cost-effective tool for atmospheric water harvesting.
“Cloud seeding has been shown to increase precipitation and is used around the world not only to enhance rainfall but also to suppress hail, disperse fog and increase hydropower reserves,” he said.
But he warned that the technology has limits and requires clear public messaging: “If the issue is not explained properly, expectations beyond the capacity of the technology or disappointment with it may emerge among society and decision-makers.”
Cloud seeding widely used, but not a cure-all
Cloud seeding is used in more than 50 countries, including the United States, China, Australia and several Middle Eastern states. Scientific reviews suggest that under favorable atmospheric conditions the process can boost precipitation by 5 to 15 percent, though results vary widely and remain difficult to measure precisely.
Iran’s neighbors – especially the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – have expanded large-scale seeding programs, with the UAE carrying out more than 200 missions a year and investing in drone-based techniques similar to those Iran has begun deploying.
Experts say that while cloud seeding can marginally increase rainfall, it cannot compensate for decades of overuse, aquifer depletion and climate-driven aridity across the region.
Prayers for rain held nationwide
The new operations come as Iran faces what water specialists describe as a nationwide emergency. Reservoirs supplying Tehran are at or near historic lows, and authorities warn the capital could face extensive rationing if winter rains fail. Some neighborhoods have already reported intermittent cuts.
This week, cities across Iran held rain-seeking prayers as clerics urged the faithful to perform the traditional salat al-istisqa amid the worsening drought.
In Tehran, worshippers gathered at the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in the north of the capital on Friday. Similar ceremonies were held in Mashhad, Qom and Qazvin.
Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli said the prayer is “asking for water in all forms, not just rain,” calling it a moment for repentance and unity as water shortages deepen nationwide.
Experts say Iran is experiencing “water bankruptcy,” a condition in which consumption has exceeded renewable supply after decades of over-pumping, large-scale basin transfers and agricultural expansion.
Northwestern Iran has been among the hardest-hit regions. Lake Urmia’s collapse has triggered expanding salt storms that have damaged farmland and forced some residents to leave nearby villages, according to local media and environmental researchers.
Officials say unauthorized wells and heavy irrigation remain major drivers of groundwater decline.
Meteorological officials say rainfall so far this autumn is nearly 90% below long-term averages, making it the driest season in half a century.
The event had turned the university “into a venue for inappropriate entertainment,” according to the Basij group statement. Fars reported that music with political themes had been played over images showing unveiled participants.
Tehran Design Week, which began on November 10, brought together designers presenting creative works across multiple venues in the city.
Images of women attending without the compulsory hijab had already drawn wide attention on social media, where videos shared from the event showed strong turnout from young people.
“The movement promoting moral corruption not only rejects any boundaries, but shows a clear determination to push the situation further and make it worse. This trend – with new examples emerging every day – is intolerable for the religious majority of society and will eventually lead to a social and cultural explosion,” Fars added.
Some government-aligned social media accounts criticized the festival and directed their criticism at university officials and the science minister.
The shutdown comes as Iran shows selective signs of easing social controls while deepening its political clampdown.
A Reuters analysis last week said while signs of looser social restrictions have appeared in several Iranian cities, the government has simultaneously expanded the scope of political repression – a trend that activists and some former Iranian officials say has intensified to an unprecedented degree in recent months.
At an official ceremony unveiling a new statue in Tehran’s Enghelab Square earlier in November, participants faced no mandatory hijab restrictions.
Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, based in Washington DC, told Reuters that the strategy shows “tactical management” but the government's red lines remain firm.
The hijab, which became a central fault line after the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, is now being enforced unevenly.
With public anger simmering and officials wary of another wave of nationwide unrest, President Masoud Pezeshkian has declined to put into effect the hardline-supported “Hijab and Chastity” law passed last year.
“That contradiction is deliberate: a release valve for the public, coupled with a hard ceiling on genuine dissent,” Vatanka added.
