Water shortage pushes Iranians to new strategies and spiritual questions
By
Katie O'MalleyNovember 21, 2025
Iran (MNN) — Drought-stricken Iran
added cloud-seeding to its efforts in late November, as a
years-long water crisis comes to a head.
Cloud-seeding is a method of spraying chemical salts into cloud formations, which encourages condensation that can lead to rain. Iran’s largest lake, Lake Urmia,
received cloud-seeding over its watershed on November 15.
But there’s no quick fix to the drought, even if rainfall surges. For example,
rain did come over the weekend in the west and northwest of Iran — and it led to
damaging floods.
“This drought is happening at the same time as years of bad management in the old infrastructure, and climate change. So recovery will take a long time,” says Edwin Keshish Abnous with
Heart4Iran.
Iranians are already struggling with daily life needs,
especially in Tehran. “The general feeling is that life is getting more and more fragile,” says Abnous.
“Water shortages have also an effect on health, sanitation, and food supply, which are all problems that hit the poor hardest. But despite that, we still see amazing bravery and spiritual hunger in Iranians who are looking for hope in the middle of a crisis.”
Heart4Iran’s call center team sees God at work in even these crippling challenges.
“As things get worse, our team is getting ready to answer more questions about fear, provision, and God’s faithfulness,” Abnous says. “Every time there is hardship and challenges in the land, the spiritual curiosity goes up.”
Pray for families already facing financial difficulties to get the help they need.
”Pray for emotional strength. If this uncertainty lasts long, people [will] start feeling hopeless,” says Abnous.
Iranians know they can’t solve the water shortage themselves. Pray that they discover Jesus in their searching.
“Pray that God will use this time to bring people closer to hope, bring [them] closer to truth and peace that comes from the Christ,” Abnous says.
Tehran, Iran (Stock photo courtesy of Shiva Mardahi via Unsplash)
Header photo courtesy of Mostafa Meraji via Unsplash.