Iran: Public Outrage over Water and Power Cuts and Continued Nightly Anti-Regime Protests
Iran: Public Outrage over Water and Power Cuts and Continued Nightly Anti-Regime ProtestsOn the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday, July 23 and 24, 2025, Tehran and Eslamshahr witnessed anti-regime protests in response to water and power outages. On July 23 in Tehran, demonstrators in several areas expressed their anger at the catastrophic state of the country with chants such as “Death to Khamenei, curse on Khomeini,” “Decades of crimes—death to this rule,” and “Death to the dictator.” On July 24 in Eslamshahr, the chant “Death to Khamenei” echoed in protest against the recurring power outages. On the same day, similar protests were reported in Marvdasht and Torbat-e Jam.
In Barzanun, Neyshabur, following a prolonged water shortage, residents blocked a road in protest on Friday, July 25. The extended and unplanned water outages have crippled rural life—agriculture is ruined, livestock are left thirsty, and families lack even drinking water. Villagers stated: “If there is no water, if there is no response from regime officials, then the roads should not remain open!”
Masoud Pezeshkian, the regime’s president, said on July 23, “Tehran has no water… If we continue like this, we will no longer be able to supply water.” He spoke of the land subsiding by 30 to 45 centimeters and the need to relocate the capital. (Chand Sanieh Telegram, July 23, 2025)
Hosseini Hamedani, Khamenei’s Friday prayer leader in Karaj, fearful of a public uprising, said: “Regarding the water shortage, we must be careful that the Mojahedin [PMOI/MEK] do not use this as a pretext and that our enemies do not exploit it against us. Be vigilant.” (State television, July 25, 2025)
The state-affiliated Didban-e Iran website wrote: “Fifty percent of the urban population is facing water stress, and 24 provinces are grappling with a water crisis.” (Didban-e Iran, July 23, 2025)
The state-run Fararu website reported: “According to the Tehran Water and Wastewater Company, low pressure and water outages remain critical (in parts of Tehran). Experts warn: if this continues, future summers will be devastated. The direct impact: deterioration in both the quality and quantity of drinking water for millions of citizens.” (July 26, 2025)
The state-run Jahan-e San’at newspaper wrote that the current crisis “is neither sudden nor the result of climate change, but rather the outcome of accumulated mismanagement and economic repression… It is the result of a growing imbalance that has pushed the country to the brink of crisis. Unless there is a structural change in policies, a rethinking of the private sector, and reform of the pricing system, blackouts will only be the beginning of a much greater darkness… To claim that it is merely due to hot weather or overconsumption is to whitewash the real issue.” (July 26, 2025)
Qeysari, a member of the regime’s parliament, warned: “Forty days of severe water shortages lie ahead.” (Ettela’at Online, July 23, 2025)
Meanwhile, another member of the regime’s parliament, Thabeti, proposed that in order to reduce water consumption, the government should shut down Tehran weekly so people would leave the city. (Asr-e Iran, July 23, 2025)
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, stated that for 45 years the criminal and plundering regime ruling Iran has suppressed freedoms, usurped the people’s sovereignty, massacred political prisoners and demonstrators, and through theft and looting has destroyed water, electricity, and the environment. She added that following the uprising of the people of Sabzevar, the people of Barzanun in Neyshabur also took to the streets and blocked the road in protest over the water cuts. Their cries echo: “Our agriculture is ruined, our homes are without water, and our children are thirsty.” Against a regime that is the enemy of Iran and Iranians, the only path is uprising and overthrow.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
26 July 2025