Water Protests in Iran Test Country’s Leaders
By Sune Rasmussen, 7/27/21, Wall St. Journal
Weekslong Iranian protests over water scarcity present
an early test for incoming president Ebrahim Raisi, who
takes office next week amid mounting challenges including
a grinding economic crisis & stalled nuclear negotiations
with the West.

The protests, which began nearly two weeks ago in the
oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan, center on
accusations that the Iranian govt is diverting water to
drill for oil, service other provinces & drive the area’s
ethnic Arabs off the land. Protesters have shouted “We are
thirsty,” while some chanted against Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei & the Islamic Republic.

Iran on Tues said it had arrested a number of people on
its western border. It accused the culprits of smuggling
rifles, pistols & grenades to be used in urban riots &
“terrorist operations,” acc. to state TV.

At the same time, Iran’s leaders have struck a more
conciliatory tone with those involved in the water protests.
Khamenei & President Hassan Rouhani have both recognized
Khuzestan’s water-shortage problem, & said Iranians have
a legal right to protest.

“It's really painful for us to see that despite the loyal
people living in that province, & with all the abundant
natural resources in that area, & with all the factories
working there, the people have reached a point where they
are dissatisfied with the shortage of water & sewage
system,” Khamenei said in a speech Friday.

At least 8 protesters have been killed in 7 different
cities, acc. to Amnesty Int'l. State media has confirmed
that 4 people have died, blaming the deaths on “thugs” &
“rioters.”

While Iran has seen regular protests over the past half-
decade, the current unrest in Khuzestan reflects the
depth of challenges awaiting Raisi as he prepares to take
office after his inauguration Aug. 5.

A deep economic crisis has pushed many Iranian families
into poverty and diminished their purchasing power by
slashing the value of the currency. The economic hardship
is worsened by American sanctions imposed by Trump after
he withdrew from a 2015 int'l nuclear pact with Iran.
Negotiations with the Biden admin to resurrect the deal
are at an impasse.

The incoming president also faces regional tensions,
esp. over the possible revival of the nuclear deal,
which Israel & Saudi have opposed. Iran has in the past
two years suffered several devastating attacks on its
nuke facilities, which it blames on Israel. Israel says
it doesn’t comment on such allegations.

At home, Raisi faces a crisis of confidence after winning
an election that was widely boycotted by Iranians unhappy
about the nation’s governance. A longtime top legal
official, Raisi is mostly known for his heavy-handed
approach to political dissent.

Khuzestan’s woes are symptomatic of deeper predicaments
facing Iran and the Middle East. The water shortage that
sparked the protests is partly due to climate change,
drought and sandstorms, but years of govt mismanagement
has amplified the province’s troubles and undercut
livelihoods of its people.

Enviro experts have for decades warned that development
projects in Khuzestan were causing enviro harm that
would lead to water shortage. The construction of hydro-
electric dams & water transfers to neighboring provinces
have parched Khuzestan, & irrigation schemes have fed
agriculture without supplying the area’s wetlands &
wider ecosystem.

Khuzestan lawmaker Mojtaba Youssefi last week told
local media that more than 700 villages in the province
lacked drinking water & that farmers saw their livestock
dying of thirst.

The protests in Khuzestan add to simmering unrest across
Iran, which has suffered lengthy power cuts this month
that the govt has blamed on heat.

Oil & petrochem workers from approx 100 companies have
been on strike for most of July over low wages & insecure
employment conditions for those with temporary contracts.

Khuzestan is also home to an ethnic Arab minority &
separatist groups. In 2018, gunmen killed 25 people in an
attack on a military parade in Khuzestan’s capital Ahvaz.
Iran accused Saudi Arabia & the United Arab Emirates of
funding the attackers.

In the current unrest over water, activists in the area
say authorities have responded with violence & by cutting
internet access—a tactic that has become routine. Iranian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Tues
partly blamed the water shortage on U.S. sanctions,
which he said prevented the transfer of technology to
Khuzestan’s water sector.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/water-protests-in-iran-test-countrys-leaders-11627397357