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2013-07-14 Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran's H2O crisis may be bigger threat than the Joos and "Great Satan"
A former agriculture minister has said Iran's water shortage is a bigger threat to the country than either Israel or the United States, Al-Monitor reported this week citing local media. According to Al-Monitor, Issa Kalantari, the minister of agricultural under president Hashemi Rafsanjani
... the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until he was eased out in 2011 He continues, for the moment, as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2005 he ran for a third term as president, ultimately losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in Khamenei's graces back then. In 1980 Rafsanjani survived an assassination attempt, during which he was seriously injured. He has been described as a centrist and a pragmatic conservative without all that much reason. He is currently being eased out of any position of actual influence or power and may be dead by the end of 2012...
, told Ghanoon newspaper this week that the water crisis is the "main problem that threatens" Iran, adding that it is more dangerous "than Israel, America or political fighting" among the Iranian elite.

Kalatantari is not the only Iranian official who is concerned about the water shortages in the country. Mohammad Hossein Shariatmadari, a former Iranian trade minister, said in April that he believes the water issue is reaching an alarming level. The following month a deputy energy minister similarly warned that the country would soon face a water crisis. Even the U.S. intelligence community sees water shortages as one of Iran's primary challenges in the coming decades. In its Global Trends 2030 report, the National Intelligence Council said Iran "has no notable watersheds and is therefore heavily dependent on fossil and imported water, including 'virtual water' imports-- such as agricultural goods like meat, fruit, and vegetables using high levels of water to produce."

And while the water crisis is set to worsen considerable in the coming years and decades, it has already resulted in notable unrest. After a drought earlier this year, hundreds of farmers in a town in Isfahan province clashed with police after destroying a pipeline that was carrying water from the Zayandeh Rood River in their town to the city of Yazd in a neighboring province. Agriculture in the country has already been suffering in recent years, but increased water shortages are likely to make the Islamic Theocratic Republic's goal of self-sufficiency increasingly elusive. Lack of farming opportunities will also force more people to artificially migrate to the cities, where, among other things, the government will need to supply them with water. This will inevitably force the government to divert more of the already dwindling water supplies from rural agricultural communities to the cities, provoking anger and potential unrest from the impacted farmers.
Posted by Pappy 2013-07-14 00:00|| || Front Page|| [20 views ]  Top
 File under: Govt of Iran 

#1 Well, one good, peaceful use of nuclear power is desalination of sea water. Of course, the reactor has to be fairly close to the sea...

On the other hand, a nuclear reactor itself requires a large amount of water for cooling. Maybe the farmers should look into where the fresh water is going.
Posted by Rambler in Virginia 2013-07-14 00:37||   2013-07-14 00:37|| Front Page Top

#2 Mess with Gaia will you---you cluess dead Arab worshipers?
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2013-07-14 04:07||   2013-07-14 04:07|| Front Page Top

#3 Water is the number 1 priority on the planet right now. Seriously
Posted by newc 2013-07-14 05:25||   2013-07-14 05:25|| Front Page Top

#4 There is way more water than we can ever need. The number one problem is energy to purify it and transport it.
Posted by rammer 2013-07-14 17:00||   2013-07-14 17:00|| Front Page Top

#5 The army was drilling water wells at Al Asad air base (FOB Speicher) Iraq in 2006-2007. Only 350 feet deep. Nicest fresh water I've ever seen and plenty of volume.
Posted by Besoeker 2013-07-14 17:07||   2013-07-14 17:07|| Front Page Top

#6 Allen will provide.

If you deserve it.

Oops - looks like Allen is more displeased with Iran than we are.
Posted by Barbara 2013-07-14 17:33||   2013-07-14 17:33|| Front Page Top

#7 I blame global warming...
Posted by Raj 2013-07-14 20:07||   2013-07-14 20:07|| Front Page Top

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