Environment

RFL/RE – An intense heat wave is shattering temperature records in Iran and the Caucasus nations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, causing power shortages that are adding to discomfort in the region.

VOA —Residents of southwestern Iran say their water supplies have been dangerously polluted for days despite pledges by Iranian authorities to quickly resolve the problem. Residents of the Khuzestan provincial cities of Khorramshahr, Abadan and Ahvaz contacted by VOA Persian on Wednesday said they continued to experience shortages of clean running water. Iranian officials have told state media that clean …

Radiofarda – Protests continued in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province on Monday July 2, in support of protesters in the port city of Khorramshahr.

RFL/RE – A senior Iranian official has accused Iran’s foreign enemies, including Israel, of modifying the weather in the country in order to create drought.

CHRI – Shots were reportedly fired during protests over water shortages in the southwestern city of Khorramshahr in Iran’s Khuzestan Province but the Interior Ministry has denied any fatalities. Khuzestan, home to mostly ethnic Arabs, is Iran’s main oil producer and contains the country’s largest oil refinery but remains economically disadvantaged compared to northern provinces. “According to reports sent to …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s southwest region has experienced a shortage of drinking water in the last few days. Residents of the Khuzestan province, particularly in the cities of Khorramshahr and Abadan, have staged protests, with some protests turning violent. Video clips of clashes between protesters and police were shared online. Deputy Interior Minister Hossein Zolfaghari said that as a result of …

Radiofarada – An Iranian Interior Ministry official has acknowledged on Sunday July 1 that 11 demonstrators have been wounded in the port city of Khorramshahr after security forces opened fire on hundreds of demonstrators protesting to the shortage and poor quality of drinking water.

Radiofarda – The Latest on unrest in Iran (all times local): 2:20 p.m. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency is reporting that 230 people have been poisoned by drinking polluted water in the county’s southwest.

RFL/RE – Hundreds of demonstrators protesting against shortages of drinking water in southwestern Iran have clashed with police, local media report.

Radiofarda – Intelligence agents have stormed the residence of an environmentalist who suspiciously died behind bars in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison last February.