- Joined
- Mar 11, 2013
- Messages
- 14,903
- Points
- 113
Water flows freely into the pool at the Ansar al-Mahdi mosque in Tehran’s affluent Jannat Abad district as the Iranian capital faces its worst water crisis in decades.
Nearby, residents receive notices urging them to conserve 20 percent of their water usage, while government officials warn of impending rationing.
The mosque’s pool shows a contradiction in Iran’s response to its water crisis.
While ordinary citizens face increasing restrictions, the country’s 157,967 religious centers, military bases, and seminaries collectively consume an estimated 80 million cubic meters of water annually in Tehran alone, paying nothing for water that costs the government billions to import from distant reservoirs.
The policy covers primary worship areas but excludes affiliated commercial spaces. There is no monitoring system to track their consumption.
Some institutions have taken advantage of the exemption. The Ansar al-Mahdi mosque in Tehran's Jannat Abad district built a pool. A school near the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has done the same.
“When institutions that symbolize the government are exempt from paying utility bills, it’s natural for people not to take conservation appeals seriously,” said Saeed Peivandi, a sociologist at France’s University of Lorraine who studies Iranian society.
The Ministry of Energy has acknowledged that most of Tehran’s 2,611 active mosques are high electricity consumers but has released no data on their water usage.
Iran is facing its worst water crisis in decades. Fifty cities and 24 provinces are experiencing severe water stress, with Isfahan, Arak, Saveh, Tabriz, Baneh, and Bandar Abbas joining Tehran at crisis levels.
Climate change, mismanagement, and decades of dam construction have depleted aquifers and dried up rivers.
The government’s solution, which involves transferring 80 million cubic meters of water annually from the Taleghan Dam, located 120 kilometers northwest of Tehran, costs hundreds of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, the same volume of water is provided free to exempt institutions.
Water industry activists argue that the policy sends mixed messages.
“In a situation where we’re talking about a ‘day zero’ water crisis, we can’t ignore exemptions that lead to wasteful consumption,” said one activist from Iran. “We expect these institutions to lead by example in conservation efforts.”
The scale of these exemptions is vast. Iran has 85,000 mosques, 60,000 Basij bases, 8,767 shrines, 3,200 Quranic centers, and 1,000 seminaries - all of which receive free utilities under Article 13 of a financial regulation law.
Research suggests significant conservation potential. At Qom’s Jamkaran Mosque, water consumption dropped from 5,097 to 4,190 cubic meters after 2,245 water-saving devices were installed.
Three facilities at the Hazrat Masoumeh shrine reduced usage from 3,258 to 1,958 cubic meters with the installation of 700 water-saving taps.
“If exemptions required efficiency upgrades first, we’d see both reduced consumption and better justification for privileges,” the activist added. “Instead, the message is that unlimited consumption is acceptable in these places.”
The roots of this policy trace back to the Islamic Republic’s founding ideology, which supports religious institutions. But critics argue that it now contradicts the urgent need for conservation.
Former Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian once asked clerics to pray for rain while allowing them to maintain their water exemptions - a contradiction that Peivandi calls emblematic of policy confusion.
“Instead of implementing thoughtful water policies, the government asked seminaries to pray for rain while giving them free water,” Peivandi said. “The message to people is that the crisis isn’t serious."
The exemptions have also fueled broader public resentment. Iranians already face high inflation, unemployment, and international sanctions.
Adding water scarcity to the list, while watching privileged institutions waste resources, has only deepened public frustration.
“People see those responsible for destructive dam projects, especially military units like the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, remain in power with no accountability,” Peivandi said. “The government acts as if only the sky is to blame.”
Environmental scientist Mansour Sohrabi warns that these contradictions could trigger social unrest.
“People view access to clean drinking water as a basic right, but are forced to witness this injustice,” he said. “It widens the gap between the government and the people and could evolve into a social movement.”
