Not only is Iran struggling under mounting socio-economic crises, but an unprecedented environmental crisis is also engulfing the country. Problems such as diminishing water resources, deforestation, and severe air pollution, if left unchecked, will not just affect Iran and the Middle East, but the entire world.

Tehran is consistently advocating to prove that these calamities are due to global warming, sanctions, and persistent droughts, but it must be emphasized that all such crises are the results of extreme mismanagement, the plundering of Iran’s natural ecosystem, and the oppressive rule of the clerical system.

The stability of the environment in Iran is a national security problem as it directly affects economic growth and food security. The daily protests in Iran are now highlighting the severity of the country’s environmental issues.

The environmental deterioration in Iran has already caused political unrest in the country. If nothing is done to improve the air pollution and lack of water, as well as the other environmental issues, this could spell a mass migration of people, both domestically and abroad, as they search for more sustainable livelihoods.

This is a direct consequence of mismanagement, plundering of the Iranian people’s much-needed wealth for terrorism, and lack of government response to the basic needs of the population, which prompts the masses to bring their demands to the streets, as they have done in recent days.

The wars in the region, an increased population, and the destruction of natural resources, among other things, have all contributed to the current environmental crisis in Iran. With water resources diminishing, farmers have been forced to migrate from their rural villages to closer to Iran’s cities and towns which is adding further competition for the already scarce resources. Arable land is diminishing as more and more land is turning into the desert as a result of floods and wind erosion, while the air pollution in urban areas is creating tough living conditions for citizens.

The severity of the air pollution in Tehran, and other large cities, is forcing schools, businesses, and government offices to be closed regularly, and it has been reported that the death toll from deaths related to the toxic air is at 40,000 annually.

Iran’s clerical rule stands in fundamental contrast to democracy. It usually has no highly developed institutional guidelines, doesn’t tolerate pluralism and social organizations, lacks the power to mobilize the entire population in pursuit of its goals, and exercises extreme oppressive power within relatively predictable limits.

The missteps in the Iranian regime’s policies are what have caused and prolonged Iran’s environmental crises, especially the water and power shortages that have plagued the country in recent years. Many irreversible damages have been inflicted to Iran’s environment that experts have warned ‘will have catastrophic humanitarian repercussions as the country is experiencing in various provinces now’.

The regime’s corruption activities have blinded them to the scope and severity of the crisis, and as a result, they’ve failed to implement necessary measures to correct the problems, which now would be insufficient to resolve the damage that has already been done.

We are calling on the civilized world, environmentalists, and experts to stand alongside the Iranians and their legitimate resistance under the leadership of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi to denounce the brutal clerical regime, which is not only the enemy of humanity but also extremely dangerous for the global environment and the world’s peace and security.