Thousands of Iranians protest water scarcity in Isfahan
The demonstrations in Isfahan follow widespread protests over water shortages in the oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province in July.
Thousands of Iranians gathered in the central city of Isfahan on Friday to demand the government address the drying up of the region’s most important river, state TV reported.
In videos posted to social media, demonstrators are seen making their way through a dry riverbed on their way to the centuries-old Khaju Bridge over the Zayandeh Rood River. “There will be unrest in Isfahan if the river doesn't flow," the protesters reportedly chanted this week.
“Thousands of people from Isfahan, farmers from the east and west of the province, have gathered in the dry Zayandeh Rood riverbed with one key demand: Let the river run,” a state television journalist in Isfahan reported, according to Agence France-Presse.
“For years, there has been no will to resolve the problems of this important river,” the journalist added.
