Water crisis threatens 520 cities in Iran, according to Esmaeel Najjar, deputy minister of interior, ISNA reported. Stressing the need to curb water use, Najjar called for wastewater to be treated to standard to be reused. “Unsustainable farming has had a major role in the country’s current dire situation,” he said, adding that farmers grow water-intensive crops regardless of the water crisis, therefore sucking the area’s water reserves dry. He called for an overhaul of laws, urging lawmakers to modify current regulations to help save water. Najjar lamented the effects of manmade climate change and blamed global warming for Iran’s declining precipitation in recent years.
