UN Expert Warns Iran Has Entered “Water Bankruptcy” as Major Reservoirs Near Collapse

Iran’s escalating water crisis, described by a United Nations environmental expert as a state of “water bankruptcy,” is threatening to paralyze the country’s infrastructure and destabilize its social and political foundations.

Kaveh Madani, Director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, told Fox News Digital that Iran is now facing the consequences of decades of poor environmental management and reckless overuse of water resources.

“The water bankruptcy situation was not created overnight,” Madani said. “The house was already on fire, and people like myself had warned the government for years that this situation would emerge.”

According to recent reports, Iran is experiencing one of its worst water shortages in decades. In Tehran, where more than 13 million people depend on five major dams, one reservoir has already run dry, and another is operating at below 8% capacity.

The Ministry of Energy has announced nighttime water shutoffs to allow reservoirs to recover and urged citizens to reduce consumption by 20% to avoid forced nationwide rationing.

Madani warned that authorities are now openly discussing “Day Zero,” the point at which taps could run dry in Tehran and other major cities that were previously considered safe from shortages.

He called the crisis the result of years of mismanagement, worsened by drought and climate change, and cautioned that the collapse of water infrastructure could have severe security implications.

“When people are out of water and electricity, you face domestic and national security problems that even Iran’s enemies could not have imagined,” Madani said.

Iran’s water crisis has intensified in recent years, with falling reservoir levels, shrinking rivers, declining groundwater reserves, and mass protests in multiple provinces over water scarcity.