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Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, according to a leading environmental expert, raising fears of an evacuation in Tehran while threatening the regime’s stability and nuclear ambitions.
Kaveh Madani, director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, said Iran’s worsening “water bankruptcy” would hamper the country’s ability to function and weaken its standing on the global stage.
“This water bankruptcy weakens Iran on the world stage,” Madani told Fox News Digital.
“If they want to stick to their ideology and fight the West, they have to use up their natural resources and burn them, so if there is no water, there will be less resilience and less ability to resist.”
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Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sits next to a senior military officer in Iran. (Getty Images)
Madani, who has long warned of environmental mismanagement in Iran, said the current water crisis across the country is predictable.
“Water bankruptcy didn’t happen overnight,” he said. “The house was already on fire, and people like me had warned the government for years that this situation was coming.”
According to the Associated Press, President Massoud Pezeshkian warned that without rain before winter, Tehran could face partial evacuation.
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Of the five major dams supplying the capital, one has already dried up and another is operating below 8% capacity, according to the AP.
Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi also announced that water supplies would be cut on some evenings to refill reservoirs, urging citizens to reduce consumption by 20% to avoid rationing.
Madani said, “The symptoms were already present, and now the flames are undeniable. We are discussing Day Zero, when the taps will run dry in Tehran and other cities.”
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People walk past a large banner bearing portraits of slain leaders of Iran-aligned armed groups, including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, in central Tehran, Iran, on May 1, 2025. (Mohammed Ali Najib/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
“Iran is in a state of water bankruptcy, the result of decades of mismanagement, a situation worsened by prolonged drought and climate change,” he said.
Madani also said that the collapse of infrastructure could lead to widespread unrest.
“When people don’t have water and electricity, you have domestic and national security problems that even Iran’s enemies, even President Trump or Prime Minister Netanyahu, could not have wished for that to happen.”
Madani warned that the crisis threatened not only its citizens but also Iran’s energy and nuclear infrastructure.
Despite US claims that airstrikes destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities, new intelligence reported by the New York Times suggests enrichment may continue at a fortified site known as Pickaxe Mountain.
Madani claimed, “If the shortage of water and electricity continues, any nuclear program will also be affected.”
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FILE – This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran on May 20, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP, File)
“Lack of rainfall means less hydropower generation, which will lead to both water and electricity cuts,” he said.
The US and its allies reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and banking sector and fines stemming from the expiration of the 2015 nuclear deal.
“Additionally, they also face the issue of sanctions,” Madani said. “There were already sanctions imposed by the United States and also Security Council sanctions, which, as you know, have been reimposed.”
“Iran is in resistance mode, and remaining in this mode means increased pressure on Iran’s ecosystem, natural resources and water, but it also means increasing concerns about food insecurity issues and dependence on food imports.”
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Madani said, however, that it is impossible to evacuate Tehran. “People have jobs, children are in school, so this can’t happen overnight. The government is expecting rain, but people are already scared.”
Madani concluded, “Iran is in resistance mode, and remaining in this mode means increasing pressure on Iran’s ecosystem, natural resources, and water.”
