With sights that conjure up scenes from earlier in 2018, farmers from Isfahan province and villages and towns surrounding the Zayandeh Rud River have been making their voices heard in protests on the streets of Isfahan City.

Reports from MEK sources inside Iran indicate that the farmers have been traveling into the city to take part in vast protests over the last few days, as they have at several points in 2018, in protest of the regime’s rampant abuse of their water rights.

Regime water mismanagement has left the farmers without enough water to cultivate their crops. Despite officials making several promises to address the situation, there has been no resolution to the farmers’ drought problem.

#Isfahan farmers hold demonstrations, chant “death to Rouhani”
On Friday, the farmers of Varzaneh, east Isfahan, returned to the Darvazeh Dolat square to hold demonstrations in protest to the government’s policies that have resulted in… https://t.co/RFutjg79vG #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/Ybbut7xEOJ

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 5, 2019

While the exact numbers of farmers involved in the protests are unknown, a state-run news agency conceded that the crowd of farmers was so large, “the riverbed of the Zayandeh Rud could not be seen beyond Pol-e Khaju [as] the crowd of farmers had filled the space.”

However, the news network deliberately avoided all mention of the farmers’ loud chants of “death to the dictator”.

Farmers Fighting for Survival

In the face of economic ruin and starvation, the farmers’ protests have been intensifying in recent weeks. Clashes between the farmers and the Iranian regime security forces have become even more common, often resulting in the death of a number of protestors.

Hassam Kamran, a representative of Isfahan sitting in the Iranian Parliament, decried the situation in his home province. “Why are you doing this?”, he asked the regime, “the other day, eight of their people [protestors] were killed. Anything that happens in the future will be laid at the feet of [parliament speaker Ali] Larijani and the government.”

Iran – Isfahan
Continuing the demonstrations of farmers in Warzna Isfahan with all their strength in protest against the policies of the mullahs' regime chanting slogans: Greetings to the farmer .. Death to the ungrateful !! We stand and get our rights ..
Friday 4 January 2019 pic.twitter.com/pIDIrzz0At

— iran panorama (@rezahoseanirad2) January 4, 2019

The government has attempted to frame the death of the protestors and the ongoing clashes as a security issue, however, the Iranian people know better. A group of hungry farmers on the brink of economic ruin are not a security issue. They are a population that has seen their basic human rights deprived by the repressive regime in power.

Even Kamran himself has been guilty of abusing the hardworking farmers of Isfahan. He was involved in the arbitrary plunder and the destructive policies that created this mess. But now, sensing the regime’s days are numbered, he is working tirelessly to distance himself from the atrocious policies and side with the swelling tide of protestors.

The Farmers of Isfahan are not Alone

The mullahs’ destructive and dangerous policies have left other farmers with water shortages. Farmers in Khuzestan, Charmahal Bakhtiari and many other provinces have reported crop failures due to insufficient water access.

#Isfahan farmers’ cries for their rights can be heard from Khajou Bridge despite repressive measures and the arrests of a number of them. I hail the protesting farmers and call on all youths to support them. #IranProtests #Iran

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 2, 2019

The problem stems from the regime’s dam-building operations that have diverted the flow of water away from the agricultural heartlands.

The farmers know this and are determined to show the regime the effects of their handiwork. They shout slogans like, “farmers will die but won’t give in to disgrace” and have turned their back during Friday prayers.

The brave farmers are showing the mullahs, much like many other segments of the Iranian workforce, that they will not tolerate the systematic abuses that have been carried out by the regime’s corruption and mismanagement. This rage is bubbling below the surface across the Iranian workforce, but it is begging to break out. The consequences will be nothing short of catastrophic for the clerical regime.

Staff Writer

On Wednesday, approximately 2,000 farmers in Isfahan gathered on the Khaju Bridge to demand their rights to water from the Zayanderud River, MEK sources inside Iran reported.

Isfahan Protest Turns Violent

Clashes reported as farmers protest in Isfahan, central #Iran.#IranProtestshttps://t.co/sApkriJUYW

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 2, 2019

The protest quickly turned violent after riot police attacked the farmers and their supporters as they marched peacefully through the streets of Isfahan. Many of the protesters were women.

The regime attempted to prevent the protest from occurring and dispatched riot police, plainclothes agents, and security forces to the scene of the demonstration before it began. They also deployed armored vehicles and water cannons to the demonstration site and attacked the protesters, who included elderly farmers. Internet lines in the area were slowed on the day of the protest, and security forces seized mobile devices to prevent footage of the protest and suppressive acts by the regime from being shared online.

Farmers in Isfahan Province, central #Iran, are continuing their rallies, protesting authorities plundering local river waters and leaving their lands, and lives, devastated.#IranProtestshttps://t.co/Npgd1SfJYn

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 3, 2019

Videos posted to social media show riot police clashing with protesters. Further reports indicate that police fired guns into the air to disperse the rally. Several farmers were arrested for taking part in the protest.

Retirees And Farmers Protest For Their Share Of State Money#Iran-ian government retirees in Tehran and farmers in Isfahan held protests on Wednesday, demanding money they believe is due to them from the state.https://t.co/e4hi5MUTH8 #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/VZFjPs50eu

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 2, 2019

The protesting farmers and their supporters addressed the police, chanting, “Do not support the thieves!”

They also booed the police, chanting, “bisharaf,” a Persian vulgarity meaning dishonorable and shouted, “Rapscallion, rapscallion!” at attacking security forces.

 

Videos shared on social media show the farmers persisting in their protest. They chanted:

“Today is a day of mourning because farmers have no livelihood!”
“Death to the oppressor, Peace be upon the farmer!”

Farmer dies, he does not accept humiliation!”

“Victory comes from the God, death to this deceiving government is a deceitful person!

“Even if we die, we will get our water right!”

“Zayandeh Rood water is our inalienable right!”

“Our government is our shame!”

“Liar Rouhani, where is our Zayandeh Rood!”

“No nation has seen this much injustice!”

“Police, beware, we are laborers, not mobs!”

“Our shame is our state Radio and TV!”

The Drying of the Zayanderud

 

The farmers of Isfahan are angry at the regime because of its construction of dams along the Zayanderud River upstream of Isfahan. The dams have diverted water to factories owned by the regime and IRGC-controlled companies and led to the drying of the river in the Isfahan region. The once-prosperous Isfahan farmers have been left without water to irrigate their crops. Agriculture is the primary industry in Isfahan, so the scarcity of water affects virtually all of the people living in the region.

 

The protesting farmers are demanding that the regime open the Zayanderud River so that it may once again flow to their farmland. They are also protesting against the regime’s failure to follow through on previous promises made to the farmers.

 

Statement by Maryam Rajavi

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), saluted the hardworking farmers of Isfahan for their protests against the regime’s oppression and discrimination. In her statement, she said that suppressive forces are trying in vain to stop the protests by deploying suppressive forces, imposing restrictions, and arresting protesters.

Hail to the retirees & people who held their protests today across from the mullahs’ parliament against oppression and discrimination. Repressive forces tried to stop the protests by imposing restrictions and making arrests, to no avail. The protests and uprisings carry on.#Iran

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 2, 2019

Mrs. Rajavi called upon the people, particularly the youth of Iran, to support the protests, and said that the uprisings led by the people and the MEK’s resistance units will continue until they are victorious.

Staff Writer

Iran is facing a water crisis that affects people in provinces across the country and shows no signs of improving. The MEK previously referred to the water crisis as one of Iran’s super challenges, and it is one of the many problems facing the country that has resulted from the mullahs’ corruption and mismanagement of Iran’s wealth.

People in Iran’s central and southern provinces and the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan have been the hardest hit by the water crisis.

A report covering clashes between farmers in Isfahan, central #Iran, and authorities refusing to provide their share of river waters.#IranProtestshttps://t.co/tZ4p1Hxx1g

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 26, 2018

Isfahan Province, in southern Iran, has been affected the most deeply by water shortages. The province’s primary industry is agriculture, and farmers in the region no longer have water to irrigate their crops, due to the drying of the Zayanderud River, Iran’s largest river. The Zayanderud used to provide a plentiful water source to the farmers of Isfahan. Then the IRGC began building factories upstream of Isfahan and diverting water from the river to support their regime-supported businesses. The once-prosperous Isfahan farmers were left without water to irrigate their crops or a means to support their livelihoods.

Virtually everyone in Isfahan relies on agriculture for their livelihood. In the Khorasgan district of Isfahan, the overwhelming majority of the district’s 300,000 residents support themselves through agriculture. The loss of water rights has led to a series of anti-regime protests and demonstrations over the past year. The same is true across Isfahan Province.

In the past, the regime has made promises to address the concerns of the farmers, but little to nothing has actually been done to follow through with these promises. At one point, the regime offered to pay the farmers a portion of the damages they have sustained in order to end their protests. The offer was so insulting it led to more protests.

According to the state-run ILNA news agency: “What has further enraged the farmers is the proposition to pay 5 million rials in exchange for 14-15 months of not having been able to plant anything.” The proposition amounted to approximately $50 for a year’s worth of damages caused by the regime’s policies.

Esfandiar Amini, the executive secretary of Isfahan’s agriculture organization, told ILNA, “The recent actions by authorities has enraged the farmers. This decision made them feel as if they’re being toyed with.”

Isfahan’s farmers responded to the regime’s offer with demonstrations. After the proposition was made, more than 700 farmers from East Isfahan staged protests against water scarcity and the loss of their water rights. The farmers wore grave shrouds to symbolize that they would go to any lengths to have their demands met. Farmers in the town of Jareh gathered at the Mahdieh mosque to protest, while other farmers in Isfahan lined up their tractors and protested in grave shrouds. One farmer was quoted by MEK sources as saying, “We farmers of Isfahan have been crushed under the feet [of Iranian authorities]. We rose to claim our rights to water. We will not go back to our homes. The water of Zayanderud is our most legitimate right. 75 percent of the water of Zayanderud should be allocated to farming purposes.”

The farmers of Isfahan are protesting for the right to do their work and for the fundamental human right to access water. The fact that they have spent months protesting for water rights points to the larger issue facing the Iranian people. the mullahs have brought Iran to the brink of collapse through their corruption and mismanagement of the country’s resources, and they have neither the will nor the ability to address the problems they have created.

.@Maryam_Rajavi, hailed the determination of the truck drivers,the deprived farmers of Isfahan,the oppressed hard-working workers of Haft Tapeh sugarcane factory & Ahvaz steel & called on fellow citizens, especially the youth 2 support them.#IranProtests#IranianTruckersOnStrike pic.twitter.com/tkYxBSe6LF

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) November 11, 2018

The farmers of Isfahan have gained widespread support for their protests, and many other sectors of Iranian society have also joined the ongoing nationwide strikes and protests that began almost a year ago. It has become abundantly clear that the regime is failing the Iranian people and that a change is necessary. The people are ready to control their own destinies.

Staff Writer

 

 

 

 

On Friday, the farmers of Khourasgan, Isfahan Province, marked their 65th day of protests with a demonstration at Khourasgan’s fruit and vegetable market.

The MEK sources in Iran report that on Thursday, farmers in East Isfahan donned white vests symbolizing grave shrouds to protest for water rights. The farmers wore the grave shrouds while they attended the Mahdieh Mosque in East Isfahan and then held a session to discuss the farmers’ concerns. The act was meant to convey the message that the farmers are ready to stand up for their rights, no matter the cost.

Farmers in Koushk, Goldasht and Jozdan, in West Isfahan also held protests.

The farmers in Isfahan Province are protesting because of a lack of access to water for their crops due to mismanagement of water resources by the Iranian regime over the past two decades.

#Iran is witnessing more protests & strikes, especially by workers & farmers.#IranProtestshttps://t.co/3UgHjn3J4G

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 1, 2018

The Zayanderud River once flowed through Isfahan, providing the farmers in the region with ample water to farm their crops. But over the past two decades, the regime has built factories upstream of Isfahan and diverted the river to other regions. These practices, along with a prolonged drought, have caused the river to dry up before reaching Isfahan. Now the once-prosperous farmers of Isfahan can no longer sustain their crops.

Farmers in the region have protested numerous times over the past year in defense of their right to water, but the regime has failed to make meaningful changes. To date, none of the promises made by government officials have been fulfilled.

Regime’s Incompetence Forces Once Prosperous Isfahan Farmers into Poverty

Several months ago, Isfahan’s farmers protested during Friday prayers by turning their backs to the prayer leader and chanting, “Back to the enemy, face to the country!” Since then, this chant has spread to other protests across Iran.

October 26
Najaf Abad, central #Iran
Angry farmers are holding a protest rally with their tractors, demanding answers to the issues they have long raised with local authorities.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/lwISsfxAS4

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 26, 2018

Isfahan’s primary industry is agriculture, so the lack of access to water affects virtually everyone in the province. The farmers of Isfahan place the blame for the situation squarely at the feet of the regime and its leaders, who have mismanaged Iran’s water resources for decades. The MEK has called Iran’s water crisis one of the country’s “super challenges.” It is clear the mullahs have no plan to address this crisis.

Staff Writer

 

The farmers of Isfahan are once again protesting water shortages and violations of their water rights. Sources from the MEK report that farmers in Varzaneh, Shatur, Ziar, and other cities in Isfahan Province gathered on Thursday to protest water shortages and lack of access to water.

November 2
Farmers east of Isfahan, central #Iran, are demanding their share of river waters & authorities responding to their outstanding demands.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/ohHpya3I4A

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 2, 2018

The Drying of the Zayanderud River

The Zayanderud River used to flow through Isfahan, providing the wealthy farmers in cities such as Qahdarijan with water to irrigate their crops. Then the regime drained the river by  building factories upstream of Isfahan and diverting the water to other regions. These practices, combined with a drought, caused the river to dry up. Now the once prosperous Isfahan farmers have been forced into poverty.

The city of Qahdarijan is covered in agricultural land and depends upon farming. The drying of the

Zayanderud, the largest river in central Iran, has been disastrous for the area’s economy and environment.“The water cycle has been annihilated. The entire water of the river has been allocated to industry,” said an Isfahan environmental activist in July.

October 18
Isfahan, central #Iran
Farmers holding a rally, protesting the regime's plundering policies.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/DT73utcVVK

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 18, 2018

The representative from the city of Falavarjan on the Isfahan Islamic Council, Hesam Nazari, discussed the impact of the water shortage on the people of Qahdarijan in an interview with the state-run ILNA news agency.

“The city of Falavarjan has about 270 thousand inhabitants and has three districts and most of the people work in the agricultural sector,” he said. “I don’t exaggerate when I say that 90% of the people in Qahdarijan are engaged in all sorts of agricultural-related jobs.”

Before the Zayanderud dried, most farmers in the Isfahan region grew onions, but rice and other crops were grown as recently as a few years ago. Water shortages have forced farmers to stop growing these crops altogether.

“Some the people who were once wealthy, are currently so deprived and poverty-stricken that they are covered by relief foundations such as the Emdad Foundation,” Nazari said.

“Many of them are retired farmers who have large families and many children and relatives and have no other source of income. If this is not a catastrophe then what is it?” asked the Isfahan Council official on state-run TV.

Nazari affirmed the water rights of the Isfahan farmers. “If there is water in Zayanderud River, then all the people, especially those with water rights should have equal access to it. Of course, farmers are more entitled since their livelihood depends on it,” he said. “When a person has problems with his livelihood, he suffers very much. Unfortunately, at the moment, most people are unemployed and do not have an income in Qahdarijan.”

Today, everything – #Isfahan farmers’ share of water, workers’ past due wages, the Iranian people’s right to freedom and sovereignty – totally depends on the overthrow of the clerical dictatorship in Iran#IranProtestshttps://t.co/zwm476FvqX pic.twitter.com/tn79XLi2W1

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) March 10, 2018

Protests Will Become Political

Nazari implicitly acknowledged the anti-regime protests that have taken place among Iran’s farmers, saying that protests would turn political. The MEK has helped to organize protest movements across Iran since nationwide anti-regime protests broke out last December amongst all sectors of society. Iran’s farmers are one of the many groups who have organized to repeatedly protest against the regime’s corruption and mismanagement of the country’s resources.

“The Ben-Brojen Plan, which incorporated providing a huge water supply to large industrial factories and using the water for other areas and many decisions that resulted from mismanagement has made the people angry,” Nazari said.

“The farmers say kill us or throw us out of Iran. Are we not as farmers part of the people of this country, they ask”, he said.

Nazari pointed out that the protesting farmers were only asking for fair distribution of water. “Unfortunately, the Ministry of Energy does not take into consideration the approved decisions of the Supreme Water Council and ignores farmers,” he said.

Nazari warned, “If officials cannot handle the demands of the protesters, they should know that these protests and demands may be exploited by the enemies of the Islamic Republic.”

The farmers of Isfahan protested water shortages at the beginning of the year. The protests and demonstrations focused on the regime’s corruption and lasted for more than two months. Sporadic protests have broken out in the region over the past eleven months as the uprising has continued throughout the country.

Staff Writer