Iran’s capital is confronting a worsening water crisis after officials warned the main reservoir has roughly two weeks of supply left. President Masoud Pezeshkian said that if rains do not arrive soon, Tehran will begin water rationing and, if drought persists, could be forced to evacuate parts of the city.
Tehran’s immediate concern is the Amir Kabir (Karaj) Dam, the city’s principal source of drinking water. State media quoted the head of the Tehran Regional Water Company saying the reservoir holds about 14 million cubic meters — roughly 8% of capacity — enough for about two weeks of supply at current drawdowns. Independent outlets and wire services reported the same figures this week. (aljazeera.com)
Pezeshkian on Thursday warned that Tehran would start rationing next month if it does not rain and that continued drought could force evacuations. Multiple outlets carried the remark, citing Iranian media. (apnews.com)
Beyond a single reservoir, Tehran’s broader storage is critically low. The five main dams supplying the capital — Lar, Mamlu, Amir Kabir, Taleqan and Latyan — are about 11% full, according to figures relayed by the semi‑official Fars news agency; excluding the recently added Taleqan Dam, usable storage falls to about 5%, said Mohsen Ardakani, who heads the Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company. He added that provincial rainfall in the last water year totaled 159 millimeters, the lowest in a century, with no precipitation recorded since September 23; combined reserves stand near 252 million cubic meters versus about 420 million in prior years, and forecasts show no substantial rain until early December. (thestar.com.my)
Officials in Karaj — west of Tehran — say the Karaj (Amir Kabir) Dam is about 7% full and, at current inflows and outflows, could run dry within roughly 15 days, underscoring the fragility of supply to both Karaj and the capital. (iranwire.com)
Tehran’s daily demand compounds the strain: local media put consumption at about three million cubic meters a day, a level that leaves little buffer when reservoirs are depleted. (aljazeera.com)
National indicators point the same way. Since the start of the current water year in late September, nationwide rainfall has been far below normal, with authorities reporting scant precipitation in much of the country and major reservoirs at historically low levels. Separately, the previous water year (Sept. 22, 2024–Sept. 22, 2025) ended with roughly 40% less precipitation than the long‑term average. (v1.iranintl.com)
Context from opposition and advocacy groups continues to surface alongside the environmental crisis. The exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has alleged more than 2,000 executions over roughly the past 14–15 months; that claim could not be independently verified by major wire services and is not directly tied to water policy. (ncr-iran.org)
