Iran’s Despotic Government May Have To Evacuate Tehran Because Of Water Shortage

Tehran, home to more than 10 million people, stands on the brink of a catastrophic water shortage amid Iran’s most severe drought in decades. In 2025, the capital has seen a 100% drop in precipitation compared to the previous year — an unprecedented collapse that has left the region’s reservoirs nearly empty. Iranian officials are now warning that, absent immediate rainfall, parts of the city may face forced evacuation within weeks.

At the center of the crisis is the Amir Kabir Dam, once a cornerstone of Tehran’s water supply. Today, it holds only 14 million cubic meters of water — just 8% of capacity — enough to sustain the city for about two weeks under current conditions. Tehran depends on five primary dams — Lar, Mamlu, Amir Kabir, Taleqan, and Latyan — but together they are only 8%. Excluding the newly added Taleqan Dam, that figure plunges to 5%, according to Mohsen Ardakani, head of Tehran’s Water and Wastewater Company.

Tehran’s environmental collapse is only one part of a broader national emergency. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), more than 2,000 people have been killed in just 14 and a half months of Pezeshkian’s repressive presidency, as the regime tightens its grip.

Tehran province received only 159 millimeters of rainfall in the last water year, the lowest in a century, and has had no measurable rain since September 23. Current dam reserves have dropped to 252 million cubic meters, down from 420 million cubic meters in previous years, and weather forecasts indicate no significant rainfall is expected before December. Even after tapping underground aquifers to maintain a minimal supply, the crisis remains “critical,” Ardakani warned.

The Karaj Dam, another key source, is currently at 7% capacity, and clean water could be exhausted within two weeks, according to Mehdi Maghsoudi, director of Karaj Water Affairs.

President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted, “If it does not rain, we will have to start restricting water supplies in Tehran next month. If the drought continues, we will run out of water and be forced to evacuate the city.”

With the capital consuming about three million cubic meters of water per day, Tehran has little margin for error. The convergence of drought, state failure, and brutal governance paints a grim picture of a nation on the brink — where both the land and its people are being drained dry.