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Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21925/iran-water-shortage
Iran: Fear of Running Short of Water
(Gatestone Institute) Amir Taheri - Iran today is running short of water. Most of the 80 dams across the country contain only 36% of their water-holding capacity. Only two of the nation's 31 provinces have maintained the balance between water use and renewal of water resources. In the "water year" that ended Sep. 1, 2025, Iran recorded rainfall of only 150 millimeters, while it needs a minimum of 251 millimeters to avoid rapid desertification. Over 40% of the country's 300 lakes and wetlands have either dried up or are on the way to becoming patches of desert within a decade. Lake Urmia, once the 18th-largest in the world, seems to have disappeared for good, as has Lake Hamun in the east. Almost 40% of the nation's 200 rivers have either totally dried up or are reduced to seasonal streams. One immediate effect is a steady drop in food production. The writer was executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from 1972 to 1979.