This week, the Iranian regime’s systemic failure reached a critical tipping point, forcing the shutdown of 13 provinces due to severe power outages amid a punishing heatwave. This widespread paralysis is not a natural disaster but the direct consequence of decades of corruption and catastrophic mismanagement by the clerical regime. The crisis has become so dire that the capital itself is now in peril, as Tehran faces a paralyzing water crisis and is at risk of running out of water within weeks due to prolonged drought and the regime’s gross negligence.

A Crisis Acknowledged by the Regime Itself

The depth of the catastrophe is so undeniable that officials within President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration have been forced to admit to the regime’s failure. Abbas Aliabadi, Pezeshkian’s Minister of Power, publicly conceded the severity of the situation, stating, “Except for Gilan and a small part of Mazandaran, we are in a very tense water situation.” He warned of a “difficult August and September,” specifically highlighting the dire conditions in Isfahan, Markazi, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Khorasan provinces.

Further confirming the scale of the emergency, the secretary of Pezeshkian’s cabinet announced that the government was considering a complete week-long shutdown of Tehran or a recurring one-day-per-week closure due to the “energy imbalance.” These admissions are not revelations but confessions of a long-festering crisis created by the regime’s policies.

July 31—Zanjan, northwest Iran
Protest rally by by members and beneficiaries of the Pardis Gharb Mehrara Housing Cooperative.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/v53hFWozp2

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 31, 2025

A Tidal Wave of Popular Rage From Across the Country

In response to this systemic breakdown, the Iranian people have taken to the streets in a wave of protests spanning the entire country, demonstrating a unified rejection of the regime’s incompetence.

On July 30, in Mehrshahr, Karaj, dozens of residents gathered outside the local electricity department to protest the constant, unplanned power cuts. In Salehiyeh, citizens rallied against water shortages with the powerful slogan, “No water, no patience.” The public’s fury was vividly captured in Mahmoudabad, where, in a striking act of civil disobedience, one frustrated citizen locked the main entrance of the electricity distribution office, trapping employees and petitioners inside as a testament to their exhaustion with the authorities’ inaction. In Marivan, farmers reported being on the brink of losing their entire harvest after a 10-day cutoff of agricultural water, with no government body taking responsibility.

The protests were not limited to utility failures. In Tehran, power grid operators held a rally to protest their disastrous living conditions and unfair contracts, chanting, “Incompetent official, resign, resign!” Also in the capital, workers from the Daroupakhsh company protested yet another broken promise from the regime regarding a housing project they have been waiting years for. In Parsabad-e Moghan, workers at the Pars Agro-Industry company protested not having been paid a proper salary for five months, stating they were “ashamed in front of their families” amidst rampant inflation.

The anger has transcended purely economic and infrastructure issues. In Saqqez, a gathering to commemorate three environmental activists who died in a forest fire morphed into a protest against the regime’s systemic negligence and disregard for both human life and the environment.

July 28—Rasht, northern Iran
People chant "Down with Khamenei, damned be Khomeini," as they protest constant water and electricity outages.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/KxqCokXFX9

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 29, 2025

A System Beyond Reform, A People Demanding Change

The recent events paint a clear picture: Iran is united not by the regime’s hollow rhetoric, but by a shared suffering and a collective demand for fundamental change. The presidency of Masoud Pezeshkian as president has done nothing to solve the deep-seated corruption and incompetence that define the rule of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The crises are not only continuing but accelerating.

From the farmers of Marivan to the workers of Tehran and the defiant citizens of Mahmoudabad, the message is unmistakable. The Iranian people are no longer waiting for solutions from a system designed to fail them. Their courageous and widespread protests show a nation actively resisting to reclaim its future from a regime that has proven itself incapable of governing and unworthy of the people’s trust.