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5d ago

Iran Warns of Rationing and Possible Tehran Evacuation as Capital’s Reservoirs Plunge

Experts call the crisis water bankruptcy, a legacy of overuse now intensified by record drought.

Pistachios grow on a tree in Sirjan, Kerman province, Iran, in May 2025.
An Iranian man uses his cellphone while standing on the dried-up riverside of the Zayandeh Rud river, with the Si-o-se-pol (33-Bridge) historical bridge visible in the background, in the historic city of Isfahan, Iran, on February 22, 2025. Zayandeh Rud is one of the main tourist attractions of Isfahan, which has completely dried up. Historical bridges such as the 33-Bridge on the river may be damaged due to the subsidence of the Zayandeh Rud riverbed if the drought continues. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via AP)
Farmers work in a rice field in Golestan province, Iran, in June 2023.
Wheat during harvest time in Qazvin, Iran, in 2022.

Overview

  • President Masoud Pezeshkian said rationing will begin if December rains do not arrive, warning that continued shortages could force people to evacuate Tehran.
  • Tehran’s main supply is roughly 11% full, with Latyan near 9% and Amir Kabir about 8%, according to provincial water officials and Reuters.
  • Authorities have lowered nighttime pressure and readied rationing plans, while cloud seeding and interbasin transfers are underway but widely judged insufficient.
  • The shortage is national in scope, with about 20 provinces reporting no rain since late September and Mashhad’s reservoirs around 3%, utility officials said.
  • Researchers attribute the crisis to decades of over‑extraction, water‑intensive agriculture, extensive dam projects, subsidized use, and leaky urban systems that lose roughly 30% of treated water.