SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iranian security forces detained more than 60 people in connection with protests over water shortages in the central city of Isfahan on Friday, state media reported.
The security forces have arrested 67 of the “main agents and motivators” of Friday’s unrest, the semi-official Fars news agency cited Hassan Karami, head of the police’s special units, as saying.
Karami blamed “anti-revolutionary elements” for Friday’s violence in Isfahan. Iranian officials use the term “anti-revolutionary” to refer to groups opposed to the Islamic Republic.
Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based rights group, said security forces arrested more than 120 people over Friday’s protests in Isfahan, according to Al Arabiya.
Hundreds of protesters, some throwing rocks, clashed with police in Isfahan on Friday.
Isfahan, Iran’s third largest city, has been the site of protests over water shortages held in the dried up riverbed of the Zayandeh Rud, the largest river in the region.
The farmers in Isfahan province have for years protested against the diversion of water from the Zayandeh Rud to supply other areas, leaving their farms dry and threatening their livelihoods. A pipeline carrying water to Yazd province has been repeatedly damaged, according to Iranian media.
In July, street protests broke out over water shortages in Iran’s oil-producing southwest, with the United Nations’ human rights chief criticising the fatal shooting of protesters. Tehran rejected the criticism.
Iran has blamed its worst drought in 50 years for the water shortages, while critics also point to mismanagement.
With an economy crippled by U.S. sanctions, Iran has been the Middle East’s worst-hit country in the COVID-19 pandemic. The drought has forced Iran to import a record volume of wheat.
