Iranian waters oppose the government’s ‘call’

Farmers demanding water for their crops, protesters and bloodshed are pouring their faces and the violent police are shouting for them to disperse – in recent weeks a hot river in the center of the ancient city of Isfahan has become the site of Iran’s biggest environmental demonstrations.

Riot police patrolled Isfahan this week after clearing the dry river Zayandeh Roud of thousands of protesters who set up camp there. Many protesters, some chanting ‘death to the dictator’ and ‘our police, our shame’ have been arrested, local journalists have said.

Iran, a dry and arid country, is struggling with decades of drought and rapid depletion, a problem that is exacerbated by the growing population. Farmers near Isfahan and some of the worst affected, say they are disappointed because the government has prioritized supplying water to cities and factories.

“Farmers know that there is currently no water to enter the river but this [demonstration] and to urge government officials to consider short- and long-term solutions, “said Masoud Sarrami, a senior businessman in Isfahan.

This is a recent demonstration of an attempt to overthrow the Iranian government, severely beaten and punished, and a clear demonstration of the extent to which the Islamic state is experiencing natural disasters. As the protests intensified, President Ebrahim Raisi called for a committee to oversee the revival of Zayandeh Roud. Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said the water crisis could end “any way and any way”. Ali Akbar Mehrabian, the energy minister, apologized to Isfahan farmers last week and promised a response.

Things in Isfahan are very difficult.

For the past 14 months, the Zayandeh Roud River has dried up completely, said Heshmatollah Entekhabi, a Zayandeh Roud basin researcher. Water was allowed to enter the river from the dam for two days for 10 days.

Local officials say the Zayandeh Roud dam, which is usually flooded with rainwater and water from nearby mountains, is only 14 percent full. About 2m of the 5m people in the Zayandeh Roud valley have been severely affected. Many depend on crops such as onions, potatoes, melons and corn and beans for their livelihood.

“Protests in Isfahan have nothing to do with politics at all but farmers have a lot of information about where their water went,” said Fatemeh Kazemi, an environmentalist at Isfahan, noting that local industries have been under water control.

Farmers’ demands are legitimate, Entekhabi said. “The government should revive Zayandeh Roud in any way but until that day it has to pay the farmers enough money for the damage,” he said. “Instead of going to the roads that were in danger of conflict, farmers chose a dry river and showed people in Iran and around the world that the river is dry.”

Demonstrating the potential for protests in Isfahan, thousands of people in the vicinity of Chaharmahal Bakhtiari, the source of Zayandeh Roud, also took to the streets, fearing that their water would be diverted to destroy people in Isfahan. Farmers in Isfahan destroyed water pipes leading to the southern city of Yazd.

The water crisis is exacerbated by Iran’s economic woes. With much US approval after the end of the nuclear deal, Tehran is struggling to raise funds to support long-term development. It has no access to western technologies and needs billions of dollars to change its irrigation system and to seek water-efficient crops.

At a United Nations Climate Change conference in Glasgow last month, Iran pledged to reduce emissions if sanctions were lifted. The vice president of Iran and head of the environment department, Ali Salajegheh, asked the conference “how can Iran deliver on its promises under Paris? [Climate] Co-operation if it can not receive any financial assistance and skills from other countries? ”

Iranian environmentalists are generally willing to accept. “We face a problem every time we submit a government opinion that tells us that the country has sanctions,” said Mohammad Darvish, Tehran’s chief of staff. “Many people will be relocated in the future. Where should he go? This is not just a problem for Iran and its 85m people. It will affect the whole earth. “

Right now Isfahan is silent. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Some videos of these demonstrations have spread. In one video, an elderly farmer stated: “They were not criminals [who beat up people]. They were the police. “

Whenever there is a major protest, the government loses its support base, said Abbas Abdi, a reform researcher. Now they are in danger of losing farmers, “he said, adding,” but it does not seem to be a concern for everyone [political] policy. ”

Before the river was cleared, videos of protesters were posted on social networking sites. “Government officials should be aware that war has broken out in Isfahan,” a middle-aged farmer said in a video last week. “I warn you to return Zayandeh Roud water or. . . you will enter into the abyss. ”