KHAMENEI URGES OFFICIALS TO SOLVE KHUZESTAN WATER SHORTAGE

Thu 22 July 2021:

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged officials to resolve the problems of the country’s Khuzestan Province, which has been witnessing escalating protests due to a severe water shortage.

“Officials are duty-bound to address the problems of Khuzestan … No one can rest with comfort in the face of the difficult situation in Khuzestan if they care about people,” he said according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

The approximately five million residents of Khuzestan acquire their drinking water from two rivers, both of which have run lower than previous years due to the drought in Iran. Some critics, however, have said that the water shortage problem is not just a result of a drought but also due to mismanagement, especially in the construction of dams in the more northern provinces. 

Protests erupted in at least 17 cities across the province, including in the capital Ahwaz, after rainfall shortages affected irrigation and drinking water supplies.

Three protesters and one police officer have been killed in the demonstrations. One protester was hit by a car and two others were shot dead, but authorities said the victims were killed by “opportunists and rioters,” Al Jazeera reported.

Three protesters killed during demonstrations against the water crisis are seen, from left to right: Ali Mazraeh, killed in Ahvaz, Mostafa Naeemawi, killed in Shadegan and Qasem Khozeiri killed in Kut Abdollah.