On Friday, the ongoing protests in Isfahan hit a tipping point. Farmers have been organizing protests in the province’s parched basin of the Zayandeh Rud river to protest water shortages caused by the Iranian regime’s corrupt practices. ksPeople from all wal of life have come out in support of the farmers and their protests across Iran. Thousands of people joined the farmers in calling for justice and basic human rights, screaming slogans like “the people of Isfahan would rather die than give in to disgrace,” “Zayandeh Rud is our undeniable right,” and “the will not go home until we get our water back.”

Mullahs: we are not in a position to provide water needs

The crowds were so large that the regime’s state-run media, which generally censors news of protests, admitted that over 30,000 people from Isfahan province had assembled at Zayandeh Rud on Friday.

Officials from the regime appeared to be concerned about the massive crowds at the river basin, according to local accounts, and the regime cut down access to mobile internet in the area to prevent news of the protests from spreading around the country.

Mohammad Mokhber, the regime’s first vice-president, gave an address on television in response to the protests, claiming to have passed the issues on to the energy and agriculture ministers to be resolved.

Following Mokhber’s address, however, the energy minister expressed regret to the farmers, claiming that “we are not in a position to provide their water needs.”

 

 

Water diverted to industrial projects by (IRGC)

The regime’s corrupt and destructive practices have had a negative impact on every element of Iran’s economy. The country’s agriculture business has reached a stage where it can no longer solve the difficulties of Isfahan’s farmers due to rampant looting and taxation of the country’s resources and infrastructure.

Experts have said that the water store behind the Zayandeh Rud dam is mostly empty, which affects Isfahan’s water resources. About 14% of the water is still available, and even if it is released into the river basin, it will only last a few days.

Farmers rely on the river to irrigate their crops, but the government has built dams in the area and diverted the water to industrial projects managed by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

 

Farmers  in the province are in jeopardy

Originally, the Supreme Water Council and the Council of Coordination for Zayandeh Rud ruled that 74.3 percent of the river’s water be allocated to farmers in the area, while the remaining 25.7 percent be allocated to the energy ministry and government projects. The regime, on the other hand, has acquired complete control of the river, leaving farmers without any means of irrigating their land.

Farming is one of Isfahan’s most important economic activities, and as irrigation water becomes scarcer, the livelihoods of millions of people in the province are in jeopardy.

Isfahan is not the only province afflicted; several others in Iran are experiencing similar issues. Despite the challenges and protests arising from the regime’s corrupt views and actions, officials are concerned that the rallies could evolve into anti-regime uprisings at any time, similar to the huge revolt two years ago, that brought the dictatorship to its knees.

 

 

The regime forcefully crushed the protests in order to avert their demise, sadly killing 1,500 protestors in the process. The leadership has failed to solve any of the economic difficulties that sparked the widespread protests in the two years following the upheaval in November 2019.

Inflation, poverty, unemployment, and other economic issues have pushed Iran’s citizens to the brink of yet another mass uprising.

“The people of Isfahan would rather die than give in to disgrace,”

“Zayandeh Rud is our undeniable right,” and

“the will not go home until we get our water back.”

 

 

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