Latest news Iran wants to buy water from neighboring countries
In the wake of the drought in Iran, the government wants to buy water from neighboring countries. "If a country is willing to sell water, we will buy it," said Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi, as reported by the Fars news agency. The import of products that consume a lot of water is also on the agenda in order to save water.
03.12.2025, 15:26
SDA
Most of Iran's neighboring countries suffer from drought and water shortages themselves - including Iraq, Afghanistan and the Pakistani border regions. Armenia in the north, on the other hand, has comparatively larger water reserves.
Experts have been warning of a water crisis for years
Iran is one of the driest countries in the world. In recent years, experts have noted a significant decrease in rainfall, while at the same time droughts and other extreme weather events are on the rise.
Experts have been warning for years that agriculture in Iran is suffering from false incentives: instead of adapting to the arid conditions, particularly thirsty crops have been subsidized. Traditional farming methods have been displaced - with fatal long-term consequences for soils and reserves. Thousands of families have left rural regions.
UN expert: "A failure of the system"
Iran is experiencing a drought for the sixth year in a row, wrote UN expert Kaveh Madani in the business magazine "Forbes". In addition to climate change, however, he also criticized years of mismanagement. "What we are experiencing today is no longer a water crisis, but a 'water insolvency' - a failure of the system, which over a longer period of time has taken more water than nature has been able to replenish."
Madani called for a rethink and radical savings in agriculture, which is responsible for a good 90 percent of water consumption in Iran.
