How the war has made Iran’s water crisis worse

How the US-Israel War Has Deepened Iran’s Water Crisis

As Iran engages in negotiations with the United States to end the three-month war, the country is simultaneously confronting a water crisis that has been overshadowed by the conflict. According to reporting by Al Jazeera, Iran was already facing a multi-year drought and declining precipitation, but the war has added new strain after reports of damage to desalination plants, pipelines, and other civilian water infrastructure in the early weeks of the conflict.

A Pre-Existing Crisis

Iran’s water problems predate the current conflict. The country is classified by the World Resources Institute as facing “extremely high” baseline water stress, meaning it uses more than 80 percent of its renewable water supplies each year. This overuse has been driven by decades of dam construction, intensive farming, and groundwater extraction, pushing consumption far beyond what rainfall can replenish. In 2025, Iran’s 92 million people consumed water at a rate that significantly exceeded natural recharge, according to Al Jazeera’s analysis.

One of the most visible symbols of this crisis is Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran. Once the largest saltwater lake in the Middle East, covering nearly 6,000 square kilometers (2,300 square miles) in the 1990s, it had shrunk to just 581 square kilometers (224 square miles) by 2026 — less than 10 percent of its former size. A time-lapse view from Google Earth, cited by Al Jazeera, shows the dramatic retreat of the lake over more than three decades.

The shrinking of Lake Urmia is attributed to a combination of consecutive droughts, agricultural water use, river diversion, and groundwater extraction. More than 60 dams built on its feeder rivers choked off inflows, while farmers diverted water into irrigation channels and decades of groundwater extraction drained the aquifers below. Rising temperatures accelerated evaporation, even as precipitation fell.

War-Related Damage

The US-Israel war has exacerbated the situation. Al Jazeera reported that desalination plants, water pipelines, and other civilian water infrastructure were hit in the early weeks of the conflict, further reducing access to clean water for many Iranians. The exact extent of the damage has not been independently verified, but the reports indicate that the war has compounded an already dire situation.

Impact on Communities

The water crisis has had severe human consequences. According to Al Jazeera, water scarcity has displaced thousands of people, with 31,000 villages abandoned and 27,000 villages experiencing water shortages. In December 2025 and into January, water shortages led to protests over worsening living conditions and rising inflation. Similar protests had occurred in 2021 in the southern Khuzestan province, highlighting the long-standing nature of the problem.

In November 2025, Iran faced its worst water crisis in decades, following the fifth consecutive year of drought. Water levels were so low that Tehran’s Amir Kabir Dam held only 8 percent of its capacity, and across the country, 19 major dams had run dry. President Masoud Pezeshkian warned at the time that if it did not rain by December, water would have to be rationed, and if rainfall remained absent, Tehran might have to be evacuated. Those evacuations were ultimately avoided, but the underlying vulnerability remains.

Government Response

In response to the drought, Iran has begun cloud seeding to induce rainfall, according to Al Jazeera. The effectiveness of this technique is uncertain, and experts note that it cannot compensate for the fundamental overuse of water resources.

Looking Ahead

The combination of war-related damage, drought, and unsustainable water management presents a formidable challenge for Iran. As negotiations to end the conflict continue, the water crisis is likely to remain a critical issue for the country’s population and its leadership. The full extent of the war’s impact on water infrastructure is still being assessed, and the long-term prospects for recovery depend on both peace and meaningful water reform.

This article is based on reporting by Al Jazeera. Some details, such as the specific damage to water infrastructure during the war, have not been independently verified by other sources.