11/05/2026
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11/05/2026
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A giant banner depicting the Strait of Hormuz is displayed at Fatemi Square in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2026. /VCG
TEHRAN, May 11: Iranian officials warned on Monday that around 35 million people across the country are facing water shortages, as authorities also urged the public to conserve electricity, water, and fuel amid what lawmakers described as an “economic war.”
Issa Bozorgzadeh, spokesperson for Iran’s water industry, said claims that the country had entered a wet climatic period were inaccurate, noting that national rainfall levels were only about 2% above the long-term average.
He said rainfall remained below normal in 11 provinces, including Tehran, Qazvin, Alborz, Semnan, Qom, Yazd, Markazi and Isfahan, with Tehran among the hardest-hit areas.
Bozorgzadeh stressed that water management needed to be handled locally, saying heavy rainfall in some provinces did not resolve shortages affecting major urban centers elsewhere in the country.
Separately, Majid Doustali, a member of Iran’s parliament Planning and Budget Committee, urged citizens to reduce consumption of electricity, water and fuel.
Doustali described conservation as part of the country’s response to what he called an “economic war,” saying resource shortages could be used by Iran’s enemies to increase public dissatisfaction.
“Every amount of saving by the people is in fact a direct confrontation with this economic conspiracy by the enemy,” he said.
The comments came as senior Iranian officials continued to project strength despite mounting domestic economic and infrastructure pressures.
On Sunday, Iranian parliament deputy speaker Hamidreza Haji Babaei claimed Iran had “officially become the world’s fourth superpower.”
Haji Babaei also said control over the Strait of Hormuz permanently belonged to Iran, adding that no ship or oil tanker could pass through the strategic waterway without Tehran’s permission.
