Water shutoffs have spread across Iran, especially Tehran, amid growing reports of silent rationing—claims denied by officials who attribute the issue to a mere drop in pressure.
Citizen reports of water outages in the capital began surfacing on Tuesday and continued into the following days.
On Thursday, Ham-Mihan, a Tehran-based newspaper, described the situation as “silent water rationing” and noted that officials had so far refused to acknowledge any interruption in service.
“The water company denies cuts and only mentions low pressure,” the paper wrote. “Still, its own managing director has now urged residents to purchase water tanks.”
Mohsen Ardakani, managing director of the Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company, said on Wednesday that no cuts were taking place.
“If there are 20 percent savings in water use, there will be no outages. Without it, we will enter the stage of water cuts,” he added.
Outages concentrated in southern Tehran
Field reports indicate that southern and peripheral districts of Tehran are most affected. Residents of Salehiyeh, Pishva, and villages around Kahrizak and Baghershahr, all around Tehran, have faced recurring shutoffs in recent weeks, often occurring at night and appearing to follow a pattern.
In February, as complaints over weak flow mounted, Hesam Khosravi, deputy director of operations at Tehran Water and Wastewater Company, said the company was only responsible for supplying pressurized water to the second floor of buildings. Residents on higher floors, he added, should install pumps and tanks to meet their own needs.
Denial echoes past blackout policy
The pattern recalls the government’s approach to managing electricity shortages. During a period of rotating blackouts in Tehran, officials admitted to cutting power less frequently in wealthier or central neighborhoods to avoid unrest, while southern and marginal areas endured longer outages.
Similar disparities are now emerging in water supply. Reports received by Iran International confirm worsening water quality and intermittent cuts not only in Tehran but also in West Azarbaijan, Razavi Khorasan, and Khuzestan provinces.
