Following Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks urging Iranians to protest against the Islamic Republic by citing Iran’s water crisis, Masoud Pezeshkian responded that a government keeping Gaza hungry and thirsty cannot possibly provide water to Iran.
Moments ago, Pezeshkian wrote on X: “A regime that has deprived the people of Gaza of food and water now wants to bring water to the people of Iran? What a mirage.”
On Tuesday night, the Israeli prime minister addressed the people of Iran, urging them to “take risks for freedom.” He promised that, once Iran was “liberated,” Israel’s top water experts would visit every city in the country to provide advanced technology and technical expertise.
On August 9, Pezeshkian had described Iran’s water situation as unprecedented and critical, citing a 40 to 45 percent drop in rainfall and declining reserves. “Because of thoughtless development, today we have no water under our feet and none behind our dams. You tell me, what should we do? Someone come and tell us what to do,” he said. Just two days later, Netanyahu issued his water-management “advice” to Iranians via his X account.
In recent weeks, Iran has also ordered the closure of many government offices to curb electricity use, as a heatwave has strained power generation capacity. The Shargh daily reported that factories now face four-day power outages each week.
Netanyahu argued: “Life like this is not fair for you. It’s not fair for your children. But I have very good news: Israel ranks first in the world in water recycling. We recycle 90 percent of our wastewater and are a leader in desalination.”
He added that in 2018, Israel launched a Persian-language Telegram channel to teach water management techniques, which “immediately attracted nearly 100,000 Iranians.” Netanyahu concluded by likening Iran’s thirst for water to its thirst for freedom.
