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published photo, AFP
Khuzestan region suffers from drought
At least three people have been killed in Khuzestan province in southwest Iran, which has witnessed protests for nearly a week amid water scarcity.
Protests have erupted since last Thursday in the oil-rich province and on the border with Iraq, at a time when Iran suffers from low rainfall compared to previous years.
Iranian officials reported that three people, including at least one protester and a police officer, were killed Tuesday evening, according to AFP.
A local official said: “Following the riots on Tuesday evening in the town of Taleghani (which belongs to the coastal town of Bandar Mahshahr), the cadres of the relief unit of the Internal Security Forces were surprised (… ) and they were exposed to riot fire from the roof of a building. “
This resulted in the death of one officer and the injury of another in the leg. The official did not specify the nature of the riots, although they are linked to last week’s protests over water scarcity.
How important is the Khuzestan region?
Khuzestan is located in the southwest of Iran, on the border with Iraq, and overlooks the Gulf. It is the most important oil producing area in Iran and one of the richest provinces in the country.
It is one of the few regions of Iran inhabited by a large minority of Sunni Arabs.
published photo, Twitter
From recordings published on recent protests on the BBC Persian service
Residents of the province have previously complained of being marginalized by authorities as the region suffers from continued drought that has sparked protests in several towns, with temperatures rising.
The region was at the forefront of the Iran-Iraq war between 1980 and 1988. It was also a hot spot for the anti-government protests that rocked other parts of Iran in 2019.
Over the years, scorching summer heat waves and seasonal sandstorms from neighboring Saudi Arabia and Iraq have dried up the once fertile plains of Khuzestan.
In its Tuesday edition, the reformist newspaper “Etimad” reported the dissemination of the hashtag “I am thirsty” in Arabic on social networks, noting that the demonstrators mean that “they have neither water nor electricity, neither air nor life, while the oil flows (in the earth) under them.
The reformist newspaper “Arman Melli” declared that “the people of Khuzestan organize nocturnal demonstrations” the motives of which have been brewing “for years”, considering that they only want “water, that’s all”.
What are the authorities saying?
Iranian authorities confirmed the assassination of a protester during protests in Khuzestan, while news of the assassination of four people was broadcast on communication sites.
Iranian Shura Council Chairman Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf urged construction, energy, planning, budget and accounts committees to implement decisions related to resolving the issue as soon as possible of water scarcity in the province.
Khuzestan Governor Qassem Soleimani-Dashtaki denied in statements reported by ISNA on Tuesday evening that the death toll in the protests had increased.
He continued: “We have insisted with the security and military forces not to confront people with violence, especially not to shoot,” adding: “If some are armed and do other things (other than peaceful demonstrations ), the law tells us (that they should be treated) differently. But people are dear to us. “.
published photo, Social media
From recordings published on recent protests on the BBC Persian service
State television broadcast footage of a long line of tanker trucks on Wednesday and said Iranian Revolutionary Guards sent them to Khuzestan after a similar military operation the day before.
In the past few days, Farsi-speaking media overseas have released videos which they claim show protests in a number of towns in the province.
She added that the security forces dispersed the protesters by force, but local media downplayed the information.
Videos showed hundreds of people marching through the streets chanting anti-authorities, surrounded by riot police. In some of them what appeared to be gunshots could be heard.
“There have been signs of protests and unrest in the province for a long time, but officials waited, as usual, until the last minute” to respond, the Etemad newspaper said.
Scientists say climate change is exacerbating droughts, threatening food security.
And this month, power outages started in the capital, Tehran, and a number of other major cities, and officials blamed it on the impact of the drought on hydropower production, in addition high demand for energy.
In early July, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said this year’s drought was “unprecedented”, as rainfall in Iran fell 52 percent from the previous year.
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