Iran admits Lake Urmia crisis amid water diversion accusations

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that Lake Urmia has completely dried up and that it threatens 15 million residents with salt storms that damage lungs and farmland. Parliament member Salman Zaker said authorities divert 300 million cubic meters annually from rivers that supply more than half the basin’s water to other regions, rather than to the lake.

The 4,000-year-old water body lost 99 percent of its surface area as governments failed to stop illegal wells and dam construction that blocked river flow. Representative Hakem Mamkan said officials spent funds on studies rather than on action, despite warnings about health risks posed by airborne salt particles.

Winds carry toxic dust from the exposed lakebed toward distant provinces and increase rates of hypertension and cancer. Experts recommended changes to irrigation and crop selection that lawmakers say officials ignored for decades.