Severe Drought Could Pose Biggest Threat to Iran's Theocratic Regime

A severe drought driven by climate change could pose a bigger threat to Iran than any of the crises the country has faced in recent years.

The water shortage is so severe that leaders are warning that some people may need to evacuate the nation's capital city, Tehran. It recorded just 1 millimeter of rain in 2025. That's a 95% drop for the period. Heavy rains that triggered flooding in parts of northern and western Iran last week will do little to improve the crisis, experts say.  

“We are talking about a few days or even weeks of water left for Tehran,” Kaveh Madani told the CBC. He is the head of Environment and Health at the UN University Institute for Water. “Day zero as we call it in the water sector is near,” he said. It’s a day that the taps would run dry.”     

The drought is also causing a severe energy crisis. There isn't water to power many of the country’s hydroelectric dams. 

The event caps nearly six years of drought in the largely arid Middle Eastern country. Such an event happens only once every 100 years. Experts say climate change has made the crisis worse. But they also cite other factors. They include poor infrastructure, poor planning, overuse of groundwater, and the constant digging of illegal wells.

Many of Iran’s religious leaders point to a different cause. They argue it is divine punishment.  

Politician Mohsen Araki tied the drought to “blatant debauchery on our streets." Others blamed the crisis on the country's failure to enforce hijab laws.

Many Iranians are blaming the government instead. People are taking to the streets to demand that it do more to address the crisis.    

“I don’t call it a crisis anymore," Madani told NBC News. "This is a state of failure." 

Reflect: What role do you believe both leaders and citizens can play in helping find real solutions to serious problems in a community?

Photo of the Kan River following a drought crisis in Tehran, Iran from Reuters.