About 35 million people in Iran are facing water shortages, the country’s water industry spokesman said on Monday, warning that conservation remained necessary despite improved dam reserves.
Issa Bozorgzadeh said rainfall remained below normal in 11 provinces, including Tehran, Qazvin, Alborz, Semnan, Qom, Yazd, Markazi and Isfahan, with Tehran among the worst affected.
He said water management should be handled locally because heavy rainfall in one province did not solve shortages in major cities elsewhere.
Iran described its latest proposal to the United States as “reasonable and generous” on Monday and said Tehran’s immediate priority remained ending the war rather than deciding the future of its nuclear program.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran’s proposal included ending the war in the region, lifting what he described as the US blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets, ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and restoring regional security.
“The Islamic Republic has proven that it is a responsible power in the region,” Baghaei said during his weekly briefing. “We are not bullies; we stand against bullies.”
He accused Washington of continuing to insist on “unreasonable” demands.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed Iran’s latest response to a US proposal as “totally unacceptable,” while Iranian state media said Tehran rejected what it described as Washington’s “excessive demands.”
Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei
The dispute appears to center on two of the war’s most contentious issues: Iran’s insistence on sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and Washington’s demands over Tehran’s nuclear program, particularly its stockpile of enriched uranium and enrichment infrastructure.
Tehran says focus remains on ending war
Baghaei said Iran was not currently focused on decisions related to uranium enrichment or the future of its nuclear activities.
“At the current stage, our focus is on ending the war,” he said. “Later, regarding the nuclear issue, Iran’s materials and matters related to enrichment, we will discuss those issues when the time comes.”
Several countries, particularly in the region, had contacted Tehran because of concerns over further escalation, he added.
“We have always appreciated parties that sincerely try to persuade the other sides to stop creating tensions,” Baghaei said.
Pakistan acting as ‘mediator’
Baghaei described Pakistan as an “official mediator” between Tehran and Washington and said other countries, including Qatar, were also maintaining contacts with both sides and sharing proposals with Iran’s foreign minister.
Baghaei also urged European countries not to be drawn into the conflict through what he described as pressure from the United States and Israel.
“We clearly told European countries not to allow temptations from the United States or Israel on regional issues to drag them into a crisis that will bring them no benefit,” he said.
Many European governments, he added, understood the war had been “illegal, immoral and aggressive” and had resisted pressure to openly support actions he said “undermined international peace and security.”
Iran’s internet blackout entered its 73rd day on Monday, surpassing 1,728 hours, internet monitor NetBlocks said.
“Open internet access is a right that underpins all other liberties, and its deprivation severely limits the public's ability to document and remediate fundamental human rights violations,” it added in a post on X.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday that Tehran had not yet “settled score” with those who acted against the country, responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments that the war with Iran was not over.
Esmail Baghaei said Iran’s armed forces would make the best use of any opportunity given to them.
“We have not settled score with those who acted against the Iranian people. If an opportunity is given to our armed forces, it will certainly be used in the best way,” he said.
Millions of people in Iran have spent more than 70 days dealing with widespread internet disruptions and restrictions that many residents say have disrupted their work, healthcare, daily lives and mental well-being.
Yet much of the international coverage surrounding Iran during this period has focused mainly on statements by officials of the Islamic Republic rather than the experiences of people living under the restrictions.
Businesses collapse
Hossein, a 33-year-old music teacher who previously held many of his classes online, said his work has effectively stopped since the beginning of the 12-day war in June.
“My students are inside and outside Iran, but because of the internet disruptions they can no longer attend classes,” he said. “My income has almost dropped to zero.”
Hossein said the economic pressure on his family has become severe.
“The Islamic Republic does not care about us, and the world also seems not to care about the swamp we are struggling in,” he said.
His wife, Mohaddeseh, used Instagram to sell homemade sweets and tomato paste before the restrictions intensified.
“We spent four years trying to move our lives forward despite all the difficulties, but these 70 days destroyed everything we had,” she said. “We spent the savings we had put aside to buy a house, and now we do not know how we will pay rent and living costs.”
Internet; a class-based commodity
Shahla, a 56-year-old mother of a son with autism, said online gaming had been one of the few calming spaces available for her child before the internet restrictions deepened.
“My son can no longer play online,” she said. “He is full of stress and aggression now and constantly clashes with us.”
AI-generated image shows jars of homemade tomato paste prepared by a woman at home in Iran, reflecting how internet disruptions have affected small online businesses and household livelihoods.
Shahla criticized the rising cost of stable internet access and what she described as the “class-based” nature of internet availability in Iran.
“Do the people who turned the internet into a class privilege understand what families are going through?” she said.
She said she had spent years trying to create a calmer life for her son through counseling and therapy programs, but described the past 70 days as “a real hell.”
‘Not seen grandchildren for 70 days’
Mozhdeh, a 70-year-old retiree, said she was recently told to install the Iranian messaging app Baleh to book doctor appointments and receive medical test results.
“To register for a doctor’s appointment, I now have to install an application that people have repeatedly warned about in terms of security,” she said.
Mozhdeh’s children and grandchildren live outside Iran. Before the restrictions, she said she spoke with them daily through video calls. Now she relies mainly on short phone conversations.
“I am retired and cannot afford expensive internet access,” she said. “Why should people be forced into these conditions without any serious reaction?”
Public discussion about Iran, she said, often focuses almost entirely on the nuclear issue while the impact of restrictions on ordinary people receives little attention.
“If another country had cut internet access for 70 days and carried out arrests and executions every day, the global reaction would certainly be different,” she said.
Restrictions hit women-led businesses
Mahan, a fashion designer who has worked with Baluch women producing traditional needlework, said the restrictions have severely affected independent online businesses.
“For more than 70 days, we have not been able to register any new orders,” she said. “I am not only worried about myself. I am worried about the women whose only source of income depended on this work.”
AI-generated image depicts an Iranian music teacher amid internet disruptions.
Online sales, she said, had helped improve the economic situation of the women she worked with before the restrictions began.
Living in online silence
As internet restrictions in Iran entered a third month, many residents say they feel their voices are not being heard.
From education and healthcare to business activity and family communication, internet access has become an essential part of daily life for millions of people in Iran, residents say.
But amid political and security debates surrounding Iran, the experiences of people paying the daily cost of the restrictions continue to receive far less attention.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday that Tehran’s latest proposal to the United States was “reasonable and generous,” after Washington rejected it as unacceptable.
“The Islamic Republic has proven that it is a responsible power in the region. We are not bullies; we stand against bullies,” Esmaeil Baghaei said.
He added that Iran’s demands included ending the war, lifting the US blockade and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
He said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and security in the region were also part of the proposal.
Baghaei accused Washington of continuing to insist on “unreasonable” and one-sided demands.
