Iran’s economic crisis has resulted in a lack of investment in, among other things, water infrastructure. The Persian region of Iran has suffered severe drought for years. To address that problem, the Islamic regime diverted streams from the province of Khuzestan, where most of Iran’s Arab population is concentrated, to the country’s Persian regions. This resulted in thousands of cows, sheep, and goats in Khuzestan dying of thirst. Because those animals are the source of many of their livelihoods, the people of Khuzestan consider the water diversion a theft.
This was hardly the first indignity the people of Khuzestan have been expected to tolerate; the water issue was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. Khuzestan residents have been suffering from toxic pollution for years as a result of deadly emissions from oil and gas wells and refineries located in the area. All Iran’s oil and gas fields are situated in the province, as are many oil ports, which are major environmental pollutants.
The toxic substances emitted by the Iranian oil and gas industry penetrate the soil in Khuzestan, tainting the local produce. The toxins seep into the drinking water and the waters of the Gulf, affecting fish consumed by the local population. As a result of this exposure to poisonous substances, a very large proportion of children in Khuzestan are born deformed and with severe birth defects. READ MORE
